Norabelle414's Trilogy in Two Parts

Rory's favorite spot

Hello and welcome! I'm Nora. I live in the Washington DC area. This is my sixteenth year in the 75ers group! Aside from books, I also love:

animals/biology/zoology/conservation - I volunteer at the National Zoo
TV - scripted only (except Taskmaster and a few documentaries), mostly science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction; especially anything based on a book
regional theater - I have season tickets to Arena Stage but I go to shows elsewhere as well
podcasts - especially about books
knitting (I'm on Ravelry), mending, cross stitch, and embroidery
progressive politics (particularly urbanism, workers' rights, and trans rights (which shouldn't be a particularly progressive issue but here we are))

You can find me on Bluesky @ norabelle.bsky.social (now open to all, no invite needed!)

Last year I set a few "mini-goals" for my reading, as opposed to one year-long goal, and it went well so I'm doing it again:
1) Follow more people in this group DONE!
2) Write reviews promptly after finishing a book
3) Read at least two books by the same author DONE!
4) Read another book in a series I've already started DONE!
5) Read at least one book in each of the following categories: romance, science non-fiction, science fiction, fantasy, memoir, picture book, graphic novel, audiobook
6) Get caught up on a series of at least 3 books
7) Read at least 1 book published in each year from 2015 to 2025: 2015-2016, 2017, 2018-2025
8) Read 3 books that were gifts

A selection of books I have finished recently:
Real Tigers (Slough House, book 3) by Mick Herron - 3.5/5
Boyfriend Material (audiobook) by Alexis Hall - 3.5/5
The Invasion (Animorphs, book 1) by K. A. Applegate - 4/5
It Gets Better...Except When It Gets Worse by Nicole Maines - 4/5
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead - 5/5
Coyote Run by Lilith Saintcrow - 4/5

For a full list of books I've read in 2025, click here: https://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=norabelle414&collection=915880...

It's Wednesday.

Funny story...because everything about my life has been in limbo for the past several weeks, I had not been properly updating my calendars and I didn't realize until I was leaving the office yesterday that I was supposed to babysit on TUESDAY not on THURSDAY. Thankfully I realized it before I got on the bus and so everything worked out okay except I was a bit frazzled and tired. Babysitting went okay; some bedtime issues but she's such a delight most of the time that it's hard to be to strict about it. When I got home I did manage to get my health insurance forms submitted (I also got the date wrong on that, they're not due the 7th but the 17th).

Today I'm babysitting again, this time I'm prepared for it. I could probably watch an episode of TV when I get home since Thursday is a telework day.

Currently reading:
Still really enjoying Walking with Gorillas. The issues she dealt with in Uganda in the 90s are unfortunately very familiar. After Idi Amin was overthrown, the country still struggled for two decades because Amin had so thoroughly dismantled the government and reduced the power of Parliament to almost nothing.
March plans: Spider-Gwen #1, The Bedwetter, Walking with Gorillas, Piranesi
Reviews behind: 1
Consecutive reading days: 62

Currently playing:
I did manage to play about 20 minutes of Two Point Museum which came out yesterday. It's interesting and I'm enjoying it but it's much more similar to Two Point Campus than Two Point Hospital (which I liked much better).

Currently listening:
I went down a little rabbithole this week of covers of Chappell Roan songs - Rick Astley covering Pink Pony Club, Weird Al covering HOT TO GO (an actual straight cover, not a parody), Franz Ferdinand covering Good Luck Babe. All very fun.

Currently watching:
Nothing

Happy new thread, Nora!

Happy new thread, Nora. Take care.

Happy new thread, Nora!

Happy new thread, Nora.

Happy new thread, Nora!

>4 norabelle414: Have you heard the medieval-esque cover of Pink Pony Club? It's by Hildegard von Blingin' and I find it an utter delight.

I hope babysitting round two went well and that you get to do some things that bring you joy this weekend.

Happy new thread, Nora! :)

Happy new thread Nora!

I'm just catching up with you - it's lucky that I chose today to do it. I'm glad to hear that your contract was renewed even if work is a bit of a hassle.

Happy new thread, Nora!

Happy New Thread!

Happy New Thread

Thanks everyone!

>9 MickyFine: I really burned myself out on medieval covers of pop songs during the early pandemic when they were so popular. Same thing with sea shanties.

Happy new thread, Nora!

>4 norabelle414: I really enjoyed Orville Peck's Pink Pony Club cover.

It's Monday.

Baby-sitting on Wednesday went great. Thursday and Friday I teleworked, and it was mostly uneventful. I went to the grocery store before work on Thursday and everything I needed was in stock. All I do at work now is put out fires indirectly caused by the recent government changes. Currently we are cancelling all of our scheduled travel (I don't travel much for work anymore but I budget and schedule other people's travel) and preparing for a potential government shutdown at the end of the week.

Saturday I had a zoo meeting at 10am. We were allowed to stay for all 3 meetings (the zoo is divided into 3 zones for volunteer purposes and I work in zone 1) if we wanted to, but I went home and then attended the zone 3 meeting virtually. According to my handy spreadsheet, if I attend every meeting for the rest of the year and work the big halloween event I only have to work 5 more regular shifts to meet my hours quota for the year (though next year's quota is going up from 50 to 75 hours so it's good to get used to volunteering more often).

Today I'm in the office, and going to my brother's house for dinner. On Thursday I'm going to see a stage adaptation of The Age of Innocence at my usual theater.

Currently reading:
The book club meeting for Walking with Gorillas got moved from March 22 to March 29 and my checkout was renewed so that book is now on the backburner. I'm about halfway through. I finished Piranesi and LOVED it. I only have about 30 minutes left in The Bedwetter, which I really am not enjoying. The parts about her childhood are fascinating and well-written but the rest about her adult life in the '90s and '00s is really dated and gross. Watch the musical instead. Not sure what I'll listen to next. On paper yesterday I started Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, which was probably a mistake because it's due back to the library on Wednesday. But I'm enjoying it and Mon-Tue-Wed are my biggest paper book reading days so maybe I'll make it.
March plans: Spider-Gwen #1, The Bedwetter, Walking with Gorillas, Can't Spell Treason Without Tea
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 67

Currently playing:
Been playing a lot of Two Point Museum. It's pretty fun, though quite buggy. That seems to be the norm for video games now. No need to have a functional game on release day because you can just patch it later.

Currently watching:
Caught up on Paradise (the season finale landed pretty well, though I have a lot more sympathy for the killer fake librarian than anyone who was actually selected to live in Paradise), Mythic Quest, Happy's Place, Good Cop / Bad Cop, Wild Cards (Marc the cat is BACK but he doesn't wear his little lifejacket much anymore), Going Dutch, Animal Control, Severance, Taskmaster New Zealand, Abbott Elementary, Harley Quinn, John Oliver, Funny Woman, Grosse Point Garden Society, St. Denis Medical. I finished rewatching Wolf Hall and started rewatching Daredevil (the Netflix series)

>17 norabelle414: It seems odd that you're given a quota for volunteering. How does that work? And if your hours are going up next year, does that mean that fewer people have been volunteering?

Happy new thread!

>18 humouress: Hi Nina! This is a very structured volunteer program, where I had to apply and interview to get accepted into the program, get a background check, then I had a couple weeks of training (evenings and weekends). In the previous iteration of the program I had to work at least 2 3-hour shifts per month, but they streamlined the program a couple years ago and now it's a yearly hours quota instead of monthly. I really prefer this because some months I am more available than others. The purpose of the quota is 1) to make sure we don't get out-of-practice, and 2) so that the zoo doesn't have to spend a lot of time and money training people who then don't volunteer very much.

The shift from 50 to 75 hours is just to try to build back up to the pre-COVID program. It's been a bit of a free-for-all for a few years. New volunteers have not been recruited since early 2020 and since they didn't want to lose any more existing volunteers they have been pretty relaxed.

>19 foggidawn: Thanks foggi!

It only Tuesday.

Yesterday I went to my brother's house to have dinner with him and my dad. It was mostly uneventful except that my brother made dinner. The past couple monthly dinners we have gotten takeout because he was too busy/stressed to make anything, which is fine with me but I know he prefers to make dinner, so that was nice. I got home to a jury duty summons for the first week of April. Fine by me, really. I'd like to serve on a jury, my commute would be shorter, and I wouldn't mind a short authorized distraction from work.

Last night was the first battle of March Mammal Madness, a science communication game where scientists write pretend battles for animals in a tournament until one of them is the champion. I did finish filling out my bracket this weekend:


Kind of hard to read but my final four are Thorold's Deer, Puma, Narwhal, Alligator Gar and my champion is Narwhal

The next round is on Wednesday.

I stayed up too late last night doing nothing. Today after work I have no plans. I will probably go back through all of my on-boarding materials for my new company and make sure I didn't miss anything. (I got my first paycheck last week so that's the most important thing down)

Tomorrow I'm in the office, Thursday after work I'm going to a play. On Monday my office is having a green-themed potluck so I might make asparagus or something.

Currently reading:
Almost 50% through Can't Spell Treason without Tea. I won't finish it by the time it's due back tomorrow but maybe Thursday.
March plans: Spider-Gwen #1, The Bedwetter, Walking with Gorillas, Can't Spell Treason Without Tea
Reviews behind: 2 (the second one is finished but I want to post in order)
Consecutive reading days: 68

Currently listening:
Quite behind on my podcasts, so I'm hoping to catch up once I'm done with my latest audiobook

It's Wednesday.

Yesterday after work I finished the last of my onboarding tasks and did some banking.

Today I'm in the office. It's been additional fire after additional fire. As soon as I'm almost done with one urgent task, another pops up that is more urgent. Sometimes it's all I can do to just write them down. I did find out that I will need to switch my in-office days, so starting on April 7 I'll be in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays.

Today after work I don't have any specific plans. The round 1 of the first division of March Mammal Madness is at 8. Tomorrow I'm teleworking, my grocery delivery comes, and in the evening I'm going to see a play based on The Age of Innocence.

Currently reading:
A little over 50% through Can't Spell Treason without Tea and it's due back today. I'll try to finish and return it tomorrow.
March plans: Spider-Gwen #1, The Bedwetter, Walking with Gorillas, Can't Spell Treason Without Tea
Reviews behind: 2 (the second one is finished but I want to post in order)
Consecutive reading days: 69

Currently watching:
Caught up on The White Lotus, re-watching the 2015 Daredevil series (what a show)

>21 norabelle414: jury duty
I've also been summoned for jury duty in April. I was on a jury once, nearly 30 years ago. Everything since has been a day of sitting around then getting sent home.

21. Real Tigers (Slough House, book 3) by Mick Herron, narrated by Gerard Doyle

Slow Horse Catherine Standish is kidnapped, and the only one who can save her is the headstrong dummy River Cartwright. After he did everything the kidnappers asked, she should have been let go (since it was just a gotcha exercise conducted by the new far-right-wing home secretary - whoops!). But the fake kidnappers have been infiltrated by real kidnappers who have larger demands - a peek inside the secret vaults where the government keeps the evidence for and against various conspiracy theories. Who better to escort them to the archives than the Slow Horses themselves?

Once again perfectly fine but the TV show is better. This story takes place over only a day or so, as opposed to the previous two which are more slow and nuanced. The plot here is blunt and violent. There's no actual spycraft going on at all. The more complex story is the friction between Diana Taverner and Peter Judd each being evil and trying to use each other, which none of the Slow Horses are privy to. This book sees the introduction of Molly, the MI5 archivist and one of my favorites from the show, but here her abrasiveness is directed at River instead of the in-house security, which is boring. I don't want to get into every detail of difference from the show, it's enough to say this isn't my favorite of the series.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (3.5/5)

22. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

A man lives alone in a seemingly-infinite maze of classical halls full of statues. He makes sense of his world by journaling, taking note of the things around him, his wanderings around the halls, and the patterns of the tides of the ocean a floor below him. Once a week he meets with the Other, the only other living human he knows, who asks him strange questions and wants them to perform rituals together. At one meeting the Other warns Piranesi that the halls might contain a 16th person (the other 13 being dead remains) who means harm to them both. But Piranesi’s curiosity might outweigh his deference to the more knowledgeable Other.

I really really loved this book, despite the fact that dreamy, uncertain realities are not usually my jam. Piranesi’s meticulous journaling keeps him and the reader grounded, as does the reader always being very slightly ahead of him. There are many possible interpretations of the House - besides taking it at face value it could also be a manifestation of the isolation of imprisonment or mental illness. I'm sorry I was not able to read it earlier, because I think it would really have spoken to me during the lonely months of the early COVID-19 pandemic (it was written well beforehand, but reflects the author’s experience with a chronic illness). I’m not sure the ending was exactly what I was hoping for, but it serves to bring the fantastical story back to sharp reality. I loved being inside Piranesi’s head, and exploring his world with him. Very satisfying.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (5/5)

>25 norabelle414: I read Piranesi as an ARC in April of 2020 and it was a very fitting read for early in the pandemic. Glad it was a good one for you! You make me want to reread it...

Thanks for your Slow Horses review, Nora. We love the show and I've often wondered, should I read the books? They aren't calling to me strongly enough though.

>25 norabelle414: This is on my TBR, I love everything else by this author.

>26 bell7: I really enjoyed reading your review after I posted mine. I would be jealous you got an ARC but no point if I wasn't reading anything at that time anyway!

>27 lauralkeet: I think I might like them better if I read the books first, so the TV show feels like an upgrade instead of the books a downgrade. But on the other hand, I don't love thrillers and I only listen because I can keep it on in the background since I already know what happens.

>28 jdavidhacker: Somehow this book which is completely different from Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell gave me a lot of the same feelings. I definitely recommend it.

>24 norabelle414: Heh, just finished that one too. Didn’t think it was the best of the ones I’ve read, but not bad. Your review was spot one.

>29 norabelle414: It was just on my Kindle, if that makes you feel any better. And thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed my review. I've enjoyed seeing "connections" show up near the top, and it's interesting to see so many of us with 4-5 stars in very similar agreement.

23. Every Night Is Pizza Night by J. Kenji López-Alt, illustrated by Gianna Ruggiero

Pipo knows that pizza is the best food, so she and her family have pizza every night. Her parents tell her that if pizza is the best food she needs to prove it - by trying other foods. So Pipo goes around to the other families in her apartment building to try other potential best foods - bibimbap, tagine, red beans & rice, dumplings, etc. They’re all wonderful, and she still loves pizza, so she learns that there doesn’t have to be only one best food.

A lovely story with lovely illustrations. Each page is filled with little details, from the decor of apartments that really feel lived in to the ingredients and dishes and mess that make the delicious food. The story is really sweet, I love that the solution is not that pizza is not the best (because it is, duh) but just that food is a wide world of so many delicious things and we can enjoy them all equally. The idea that a family has to have pizza for dinner every night because their kid says so is very silly.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

24. Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse #1 by Tim Seeley, illustrated by Jodi Nishijima and Federico Blee

Gwen Stacy lives in a low-super universe, where the “villains” do things like throw bodega snacks around, but sometimes she escapes to a different universe, where she can really be a hero. While traveling between universes she accidentally collides with a supervillain from the end of time, and Gwen’s consciousness is spread into many different heroes throughout space and time. Now Gwen and Spider-Zero have to find all of the Gwens and keep them from destroying the timeline. First stop: Norway 3000 years ago.

The main story is surprisingly coherent, considering how much lore there is. I don’t know who any of these people are except Gwen (her backstory is succinctly if awkwardly introduced, thank you), Mary Jane, and Thor, but Spider-Zero gets an explanation and the rest just need to be vaguely villain-y. The characterization is not great - MJ is so awful that it doesn’t make any sense Gwen would fall for the manipulation. The art is fine but nothing special. I really don't like Gwen's fake-boobs, dislocated-hips look on the cover art (by David Nakayama), but the comics don't look like that.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

>30 drneutron: It took me awhile to figure out why I didn't like this one as much - there's just no real spycraft in it at all. No tailing anyone, no digging through garbage, no going undercover. It's just an action movie.

>31 bell7: It's very handy! I usually page through reviews to see if any of my friends are in there so it's very convenient to have them right at the top. Now if only they weren't truncated....I find that so annoying (and it's why I'm not using the "Attach Review" feature.)

25. The Bedwetter {audiobook} by Sarah Silverman, narrated by Sarah Silverman

Comedian Sarah Silverman had an interesting childhood, growing up Jewish in New Hampshire. As the youngest of five girls she always used humor for attention and to mask the fact that she regularly wet the bed until high school, as well as the anxiety and depression it caused (or was caused by). She fell in love with New York when she visited an older sister there, and then moved herself at 18 to join the comedy scene. She spent a season on Saturday Night Live, wrote and starred in a sitcom about her life, told some risky jokes that she may or may not have later regretted, and worked on the election campaign of President Barack Obama.

I picked up this ancient (2010) memoir because I recently saw a stage musical adaptation of it and really loved it. The musical does a great job of picking out the interesting, meaningful, and emotional early parts of the memoir and leaving behind all of the other parts, which are quite bad. Sarah’s family story is very funny (her father owned a discount women’s clothing store and made his own local tv ads, her mother was the voice of the local movie theater because she complained about the bad diction in their recordings) and very sad (an infant brother died in a crib accident while most of the family was on vacation, after her divorce her mother developed severe agoraphobia). After she’s on her own things quickly go downhill. Aside from lengthy chapters on her deep friendships with comedians we know now to be sex pests, she spends a lot of time defending jokes that ranged from unfunny to unfunny-and-obviously-offensive. Her comedy at the time was very ‘punching down is fine as long as you’re punching at everyone’, as was the style at the time. She spends a long time defending a 2007 joke involving a racial slur that got her banned from some TV shows for awhile and is not apologetic about it (though I know she is in the current day). The book picks up a bit at the end, when she talks about some major fashion mistakes she made (the early ‘00s were rough, I know) and how thrilled she was to work on a campaign video for the 2008 election.

Definitely skip this memoir, but check out the musical The Bedwetter if you ever have a chance to see it. It’s the perfect distillation of her humor, without all of the bad stuff.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ♥ (2.5/5)

26. Can't Spell Treason without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

Reyna, high-ranking officer in the Queen's guard, and Kianthe, the most powerful mage in the Realm, run off together even though that is, you know, treason. They pick a sleepy border town of uncertain sovereignty to start their new life as proprietors of a tea shop/bookstore, and make friends with the locals. Their adventures don't end, however, as the town is home to two feuding (and flirting) bureaucrats and is periodically attacked by dragons. Not to mention that the queen is not very happy about her bodyguard's defection.

A nice story, if a little too long. The characters are enjoyable but their logic doesn't quite hold up - they're way too insecure in their relationship for people who have been dating for years, and Reyna tells everyone and their mother her real name when she's supposed to be laying low. The big, dangerous confrontation with the dragons comes exactly halfway through the book, which makes the pacing feel off, but I wonder if that's an inherent part of the “cozy” genre - dramatic scenes spread throughout the story instead of building tension up to one particular climax. Not to mention it allows more time for healing and comfort. I didn't love the ending of this book but I did like the amount of mystery that is left for subsequent books in the series.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

>35 norabelle414: Looks like you took one for the team, thanks Nora :0)

>37 humouress: Anytime, Nina! It's interesting as a historical artifact but if I didn't already know how much she's changed since then I would be concerned. There's a relatively long holds list at the local library (I assume because of the musical...why else would it suddenly be popular again??) and I want to find everyone on it and personally let them know not to bother.

It's Monday.

Wednesday evening was the first real round of March Mammal Madness and all 8 of my picks won! Thursday I had dinner with my dad and then we saw a stage adaptation of The Age of Innocence. It was very good but it started at 8pm and was 3 hours and 15 minutes long so I didn't get home until almost midnight. There was another round of March Mammal Madness but I forgot to catch up this weekend (I muted all MMM stuff from my social media but did too good a job, apparently). Friday was uneventful, just very busy with work stuff.

Saturday I got in some good reading time, wrote book reviews, and caught up on TV. I went to the library to pick up a couple holds and figured I would check the shelves for anything else interesting. I checked out 6 big books and stuffed them in my tiny tote bag and walked halfway home only to realize...I didn't pick up my holds. So I walked back to the library and went back inside with my huge bag of books to get 2 more books. Even more embarrassingly, as I was walking home (the first time) a woman stopped me and asked if I knew where the library was so I said I had just come from there and gave her directions, then when I went back I ran into her inside and she waved at me.

Yesterday I didn't do much. I went to the grocery store and prepared some prosciutto-wrapped asparagus for a work potluck today, which I then cooked this morning. I was hoping I would get asparagus in my seasonal produce delivery on Thursday but I only got a bunch of shallots and turnips and 2 cabbages.

In the office today. Not much going on this week, just baby-sitting after work on Wednesday and then probably doing my taxes on Thursday.

Currently reading:
I finished Spider-Gwen, The Bedwetter, and Can't Spell Treason Without Tea. I read Walking with Gorillas on the bus this morning, and before bed I'm reading A Deadly Education. I was planning to take a break from audiobooks so I could catch up on my podcasts but I caught up on a LOT of podcasts this weekend so I've checked out The Age of Innocence on audio. After I finish Walking with Gorillas I have a non-fiction LTER book to read.
March plans: Walking with Gorillas, A Deadly Education, Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, Potomac Fever
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 74

Currently playing:
I'm deep into Two Point Museum now and it is quite fun. I might pick up some expansions for Two Point Campus during the Steam spring sale.

Currently watching:
Caught up on Saturday Night Live (the Lady Gaga episode), Grosse Pointe Garden Society (boring, I probably won't watch much more), Animal Control, Severance, Abbott Elementary (fantastic episode), St. Denis Medical, Good Cop/Bad Cop (very funny!) and Wild Cards. I started season 3 of Taskmaster Australia and the first few episodes of the new show A Thousand Blows about boxers and thieves in Victorian London which I am really enjoying.

Hey Nora :)

The chaos at your job sounds like a nightmare. I'm glad to see you handling things so well. Keep it up and I hope things get better real fast.

Funny thing about the cozy book. I don't recall if I ever spoke about the relationship between the characters (and I'm too lazy to re-read my own posts right now)but you actually hit the nail on the head on exactly what bothered me about them, the overall pacing and the structure of each climax. I'm old from Natalie that this book wasn't very beloved by the genre crowd but I wouldn't be the authority on it.

And I'll probably give the Silverman memoir a pass. I dunno why but but I've just never found her all that funny. But reading your review was fun (I love a good rant).

Have fun with the fighting mammals!

>40 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks Angela! Things are not going to get better for the next 4 years but I'll still be here.

Can't Spell Treason without Tea was self-published before being traditionally published, and she mentioned in the acknowledgements that she doesn't think it's a great book but she's proud of it anyway and that goes a long way with me. I didn't think the details are as cute as Legends & Lattes but I liked that it had a bit more action.

It's Tuesday.

Yesterday after work I caught up on March Mammal Madness from Thursday - I got 6 out of 8 points. Later in the evening there was another round and I got 6/8 again, so I'm doing quite well. Several books I got out from the library on Saturday had things/bookmarks in them and I was thinking of taking the things to the library to give to the librarian, but decided it wasn't urgent and I was lazy. Do any librarians want to weigh in on whether it's worth returning the things to the library or if they'll just sit there taking up space? I have two store-bought bookmarks and one children's drawing.

I texted someone I met at a professional conference last year to see how she's doing (in the current climate an "R U Ok?" text is always appropriate) and she asked if I want to go see the cherry blossoms the weekend after next. I made a friend!

This evening I'm attending an online webinar about street art for science and politics communication (from a functional perspective, not the art itself). I found this VERY valuable a couple weeks ago so if anyone is interested send me a private message and I'll send you the link to RSVP.

Tomorrow after work I'm baby-sitting. Thursday after work I'm probably going to work on my taxes, though there's also a community meeting I would like to attend (my neighbors who own detached single-family homes are incredibly hostile to our neighbors who rent or live in multifamily housing so it would be nice to be another voice for people like me).

Currently reading:
A bit of Walking with Gorillas on the bus, a bit of A Deadly Education before bed (which I should have skipped because it led me to stay up later than I should, but I'm enjoying it too much)
March plans: Walking with Gorillas, A Deadly Education, Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, Potomac Fever
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 75

Currently watching:
The White Lotus (what an episode!), Last Week Tonight, Mythic Quest

>42 norabelle414: Re: bookmarks and such in library books, it's very likely that they'll go in the black hole of lost and found. If they look particularly special and you want to try, it's a nice gesture, and the librarians *might* be able to determine who had the book before you. But we often can't for privacy reasons (our circ stats age out after a couple of months, but each library is different), and even if we do sometimes things sit there for ages. Fun fact: we once made a display of all the lost bookmarks that had come back in library books, and I do think two of them were claimed that way.

Enjoy babysitting and the cherry blossoms!

>42 norabelle414: Like Mary, in my large library system, if things get left behind in books (unless it's important like an ID card or the like) we don't return to the previous user. There are a few branches in the system that I know have left behind bookmarks on a bulletin board in their work area.

If you like the bookmark(s), keep them. If not, I'd leave them there as a future treasure for someone else to find. 😊

>42 norabelle414: I agree with Mary and Micky -- at our library, they would languish in the lost and found.

Interesting responses! I asked the same question in the discord server of a book podcast and all 3 librarians suggested I return them and said they reunite patrons with their bookmarks all the time.

>43 bell7: Unfortunately the child's drawing bookmark I couldn't quite tell which book it came out of, and that seems probably the most sentimental. However, it was definitely a book I got off the shelf, which means it was returned to my branch, which means it's probably someone who lives in my neighborhood

>44 MickyFine: leave them there
Oooh, I hadn't considered that option! I can make it someone else's problem 😂

>45 foggidawn: One of the other librarians I talked to said they have a special box for lost bookmarks on the circulation desk that is separate from the big lost & found

It's Wednesday!

Yesterday I mostly puttered around, and also attended the second iteration of an online webinar about street art for science and politics communication. I think I got more out of it the second time, because I've had some time to process it. I'm not an artist myself (nor am I interested in becoming one) but I would love to distribute someone else's zines or something. Not sure how to find out where to acquire art to distribute, as opposed to making it myself.

Today after work, babysitting. Tomorrow after work, taxes. Friday after work, the library?? I also need to do laundry at some point.

Currently reading:
Again: A bit of Walking with Gorillas on the bus, a bit of A Deadly Education before bed (which I should have skipped because it led me to stay up later than I should, but I'm enjoying it too much)
March plans: Walking with Gorillas, A Deadly Education, Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, Potomac Fever
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 76

Currently watching:
Going Dutch, Happy's Place

I can imagine A Deadly Education would be hazardous to adhering to a sleep schedule. Be warned, the whole trilogy is like that. :P

It's Friday!

Wednesday after work I babysat. The weather was so nice that we sat outside for dinner and my niece and I had a great time looking at bugs and flowers. She asked who had planted some daffodils in her yard so we talked about how flowers wait underground all winter and then grow up when it's springtime and it blew her little mind.

Yesterday I teleworked and then to my dad's house to file my taxes and then we went out to dinner.

Today I'm teleworking. I missed March Mammal Madness Wed and Thurs so I need to catch up. I was thinking of going to the library but I don't really have anything to do there so maybe I'll just go for a walk. Warm weather today. No plans this weekend but I might revive last year's "no specific book club" in one of the Discord servers I'm in.

Getting back to my '3 things' now that I'm not fighting for my job moment-to-moment (it's only day-to-day now)
1) For myself, in the moment: ate a piece of cake, yummy
2) For myself, in the future: filed my taxes
3) For my community: checked to make sure my parents have a plan to vote in the Wisconsin supreme court election

Currently reading:
Still: a bit of Walking with Gorillas on the metro, a lot of A Deadly Education before bed (staying up too late, etc.)
March plans: Walking with Gorillas, A Deadly Education, Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, Potomac Fever
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 76

Currently playing:
Lots and lots of Two Point Museum

Currently listening:
The official playlist for Eurovision 2025 is finalized but the only song I've listened to so far is Australia's Milkshake Man, which I hate. It's derivative of 2023's Promise but creepy and not good.

Currently watching:
season finale of Severance (a marching band!!!!)

Monday!

Friday after work I read on the roof for a bit, my first time of the year! but it was a bit colder in the shade than I had anticipated and other people were sitting in the sun so I only stayed for about 20 minutes. My building got new roof deck furniture in the fall and I hadn't seen it yet...it is quite ugly and uncomfortable. Some of the chairs (loungers and armchairs) they had before were falling apart but the ones that were not were quite comfortable. The new ones are beige, ugh, and several of them are already broken after just a few months. I'm sure they were cheap.

Saturday I took the bus to maker fair hosted at a different library branch. I enjoyed looking at the crafts - woven scarves, crocheted baskets, paper flowers, etc. but nothing spoke to me in particular. It was nice to get out of the house - every time I do so I have a nice time, even (sometimes especially) when I'm going nowhere, but that hurdle of leaving my apartment when I don't absolutely have to is a tall one. I caught up on March Mammal Madness and my bracket is doing quite well. I got 8/8 in the last division of round 1 and 6/8 in 2 divisions of round 2. Tonight is the second half of round 2.

Sunday I read a lot and attended a resurrected online No-Specific-Book Club. The last meeting was in August. One of the attendees set it up again on a whim so there wasn't a lot of notice and only 3 of us attended, but it was nice to get back into the swing of things and we're hoping to have one again in 2 weeks.

Today I'm in the office. This week is low-key relative to last week. Tomorrow afternoon I have an off-site meeting in a neighborhood much more interesting than where I normally work, so that is exciting. Saturday I have zoo book club and at some point this weekend I'm going with a friend to look at cherry blossoms.

3 Things:
1) For myself, in the moment: bought some fun "fancy" (not store brand) seltzer and drank it (Orange cream-flavored Polar Seltzer - very good!)
2) For myself, in the future: made an appointment to talk to my financial advisor later this week
3) For my community: submitted a public comment on a proposed rule by DHHS to remove gender-affirming care from the list of "Essential Health Benefits" which would make it very unlikely to be covered by most health insurance plans (I am against the removal, obviously)

Currently reading:
I finished A Deadly Education and I don't even know how to begin to review it. Wow, what a book!! I should be able to get the sequel tomorrow or Thursday. I also finished Walking with Gorillas yesterday, and today on the bus I started Potomac Fever, an LTER book. My next at-home read will be the graphic novel Galaxy: The Prettiest Star.
March plans: Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, Potomac Fever
April plans: The Last Graduate, The Age of Innocence
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 81

Currently playing:
Lots and lots of Two Point Museum

Currently listening:
I know I mentioned this before but I still LOVE the most recent Sum 41 album that came out last year, Heaven x Hell

Currently watching:
Taskmaster Australia s3e2, season finale of Harley Quinn, Happy's Place, Abbott Elementary, A Thousand Blows, Good Cop/Bad Cop, Wild Cards (we haven't seen Marc, the cat who wears a lifejacket, in awhile but last week's episode did feature Marc's owner getting drunk and crying over a picture of Marc which is so relatable). I started the new shows Dope Thief (not for me) and Long Bright River (will continue). I have not been continuing my rewatch of Daredevil because Disney+ kicked me out of my friend's account! Devastating.

I'm also baffled by the purchase of cheap furniture for apartments and condos. Yes, I get it, you got a lot to buy for. BUT it's stuff that'll be used by hundreds of people. Wouldn't it make more sense to invest in better quality so you aren't buying as often? I dunno maybe I'm off and don't get money.

But the craft fair sounds wonderful and I mirror your struggles with just getting out for the sake of it. Hope your week goes well :)

>51 Ravenwoodwitch: Apartment buildings can charge more rent if they say they have a roof deck (or pool or game room or gym or whatever) but if the amenity is non-functional most people won't actually leave over it because who wants to move apartments just because the roof deck furniture is broken? (And probably move to an identical building that also has broken roof deck furniture). So there's no real incentive for them to buy high-quality amenities.

It only Tuesday.

Yesterday after work I puttered around, cleaned the kitchen, watched March Mammal Madness. The 1-seed Thorold's deer somehow lost to 8-seed Gelada baboon which really messed up my bracket.

Today I'm in the office in the morning, then in the afternoon we all have an off-site meeting in a cool neighborhood. I should do something fun afterward - there's a crafting class at the nearby library branch but it doesn't start until 6 and the meeting should be over by 4. Maybe I'll stop by Trader Joe's on my way home (oooh so exciting)

Currently reading:
I started the graphic novel Galaxy: The Prettiest Star last night. I picked it up because I saw the characters are also in Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story which I plan to read next, which is a spin-off of the TV show Supergirl, which is about Superman's cousin, and yet somehow I was still surprised that there were Superman references in Galaxy: The Prettiest Star. That's on me. I'm reading Potomac Fever: Reflections on the Nation's River on the bus, which is an interesting book but hard to categorize. It's about the intersection of race/whiteness and the natural history of the DC area? kind of?
March plans: Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, Potomac Fever
April plans: The Last Graduate, The Age of Innocence
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 82

Currently watching:
The White Lotus, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (not sure why they showed Anne Boleyn's decapitation again when we already saw it last series, it's not like anyone who cares to watch Wolf Hall doesn't know what happened to her! I suppose if you have a chance to get Claire Foy back you take it, but it's not like the show doesn't already have ghosts! Make her a ghost!)

We are big lovers of Polar seltzer in this house, especially cranberry lime.

>53 norabelle414: I watched Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light on Sunday too. I was thinking maybe they showed the ending of the previous series at the beginning of this one just because the first one aired so long ago. Maybe they thought it would get viewers back in the place the series left off. I have to say that I wasn't expecting to see that either. It's kind of a brutal place to start.

>54 katiekrug: We haven't watched it yet...maybe tonight. "I suppose if you have a chance to get Claire Foy back you take it" Are you saying they re-shot that scene? Or did they just replay it from the first mini-series? I think the book starts by "replaying" the execution too, doesn't it?

>56 laytonwoman3rd: To me it looked like they were replaying what was filmed for the original series, but maybe Nora has a better sense of it.

>53 norabelle414: The Onion link made me laugh. I hope you were able to find something fun to do after work yesterday. I for one get excited about Trader Joe's runs (the closest one to me is a 40 minute drive, so it's a treat after the doctor's appointment that's in the area).

>54 katiekrug: Most of the time I get store-brand seltzer which is quite cheap, but sometimes I'll get a pack of something fancier. I like the ones that are just regular seltzer, no added juice or fermentation or anything. A coworker gave me a Spindrift nojito last week and I hated it (and you know I love a real mojito!)

>55 atozgrl: >55 atozgrl:, >56 laytonwoman3rd: Claire Foy is credited in the episode, which means they did shoot new scenes with her. Compared with what I remember from the last series (which I did watch 2 weeks ago but was only half paying attention to). Some of it was the same footage (or a fantastic recreation) but some was new/different. I did a little research and I think the consensus is that the scene was repeated to establish the new actor that replaced Tom Holland, which makes sense.

>58 bell7: The Trader Joe's is a pretty reasonable trip for me, there's a bus that picks up right outside my apartment and stops right outside the Trader Joe's, but that bus only runs every 30 minutes and ends at 8:15. Nice if I'm already in the area but too annoying to go on a regular basis.

It's Wednesday!

Yesterday my off-site meeting ended earlier than expected so I hung around the neighborhood for awhile, got some ice cream, took the bus to Trader Joe's and then the rest of the way home. Taking the public bus though neighborhoods makes me feel so much more energized than my usual private shuttle on the highway, so despite getting home a bit later than normal I went to the library and returned some books and checked out the two sequels to A Deadly Education.

Today I'm in the office. I've got a Trader Joe's packaged salad for lunch, which is exciting. No plans after work.

Currently reading:
I read a bit more of Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, which is not only in the same universe as Superman but is also kind of The Wizard of Oz? It works, though. Still reading Potomac Fever on the bus, but it's slow going so I may not finish this month.
When it was announced I put a hold on the audiobook of Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, assuming it would take a few months before my number was up. However, the book has gotten so much press that my library system ordered 44 more copies so my hold came up quite quickly! (I was 39th on the list, now there are over 400 holds) That'll be my next audiobook, putting The Age of Innocence on the backburner.
March plans: Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, Potomac Fever
April plans: The Last Graduate, Careless People
Reviews behind: 2 (they're both mostly written)
Consecutive reading days: 83

Currently watching:
I put the new nature documentary series The Americas on in the background. It's fine, though as usual full of anthropomorphism. The footage is amazing but the editing is very annoying, making animals look like they are interacting with each other when they were probably filmed days or weeks apart. I watched 4 episodes and I did really love the section about the periodical cicadas. Great use of a documentary.

Sounds like you had a fun day yesterday. It's always nice just to have some me-time outside of the house. How's the weather out there?

27. A Deadly Education (Scholomance, book 1) by Naomi Novik

Galadriel is a wizard, and like her peers she is locked in a semi-malevolent, semi-sentient, steampunk, magical high school until their graduation day, when they will fight their way through a horde of monsters into the outside world. The other students can sense that something about Galadriel is weird, but they don’t know the half of it. She’s way more powerful than everyone else, but it takes all the will-power she can muster to keep from using her power for evil and ending up like one of the graduation day monsters. Her classmate Orion Lake is also very special, but in more of a “golden boy” kind of way - his magical powers grow stronger every time he kills a monster. The other kids are desperate to use him to their advantage, but Galadriel finds him super annoying….which he’s kind of into.

Wow, what a book! I loved the examination of wealth and privilege in academia through mana and the enclaves. The analogy worked very well. I also really appreciated the representation of what it’s truly like to not have any friends, and then how it feels to kind of make some when you’ve been alone for so long. Initially the first-person perspective annoyed me, but so much of the emotion and meaning are in El’s inner thoughts and her dissection of the world she’s trapped in that it wouldn’t work any other way. The world-building and the magic system are fantastic, and while the world is brutal it’s not because of any dumb choices humans make, and it makes sense that it would be that way. El as a character is fascinating - truly heroic because she has the potential to destroy everything but wakes up every morning and chooses not to. I’m super happy I finally got to this book and can’t wait to read more.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (5/5)

>62 norabelle414: Excellent review. I'm so glad you liked it!

Wow! A rare Saturday post.

Wednesday after work I did nothing. Thursday morning I talked to my financial advisor. He likes to tell me his predictions on what's going to happen with the economy and I let him because he's nice and I only talk to him once a year. He quoted Anne of Green Gables - "Isn't it a splendid thing that there are mornings?"

Friday was also uneventful. I watched a podcast livestream in the evening, and they mentioned what books they're going to be reading in April so my TBR is getting longer.

Today I had a busy day - I went to the zoo bright and early for the book club meeting where we discussed Walking with Gorillas and talked to a gorilla keeper (she's a big reader so she was very excited to be asked to come to the book club meeting). I chatted with the volunteer coordinator for a little while. I had backed off from getting involved in zoo things for awhile when I was so hurt over having my book club ended but now I'm looking to get back into it. I had some time to kill so another volunteer and I went to see the orangutans and the wallabys (one of them has a big joey in her pouch and we got to see them) and then got lunch at a new falafel place that just opened up. Then I took a Lyft across town to the National Arboretum, where I met up with a new friend to walk around and look at the cherry blossom trees (and magnolias, which are very underrated imo). I had such a nice day and I'm so tired and sunburnt.

I found out on Friday at 6pm that my apartment is going to have seasonal maintenance on Monday, sometime between 9 and 5. Legally they're required to give me 24 hour notice but that feels like following the letter of the law but not the spirit. That's not enough notice for me to take a telework day, so although I prefer to be home for maintenance, the only way I could do it is to take a sick day. Now I need to spend all day tomorrow tidying my apartment and moving furniture away from the HVAC.

Next week will be quite busy. My mom arrives on Sunday night so I will probably spend as much time as possible at my brother's house. My sister-in-law is going on a work trip on Wednesday. I have a jury duty summons for Thursday, though I won't know if I actually need to report until Wednesday evening. Saturday morning I'm going to cheer some friends on as they run a race.

Currently reading:
Almost done with Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, started listening to Careless People, and still reading Potomac Fever. I'd like to finish it by the end of the month but it's not guaranteed.
March plans: Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, Potomac Fever
April plans: The Last Graduate, Careless People
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 86

Currently playing:
I burnt out on Two Point Museum so I started playing The Roottrees Are Dead, a genealogy-based game where you have to sift through evidence to construct the family tree of a rich family with an inheritance in limbo. Extremely engrossing (I don't care about this rich family but I like sifting through evidence).

Currently watching:
I started a new show The Studio but I don't really like it.

28. Walking with Gorillas by Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is the first wildlife veterinarian in Uganda. She grew up under Idi Amin and saw several family members die at the hands of the regime, including her father. She knew she wanted to work with wildlife from a very young age and she did everything she could to get there. Once she became a wildlife veterinarian and started working with gorillas and other animals in the Ugandan wild, she saw every day that the well-being of wild animals and people are inextricably intertwined. She started a non-profit, Conservation Through Public Health, which works to protect the health of wildlife by treating the health of their human neighbors, and vice versa. In 2020, her work and methods were put to the test when the COVID-19 pandemic started to ravage the world, both in humans and in other primates.

Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka is very open and honest about her life and her path, and I enjoyed her perspective particularly on eco-tourism. She sees it as a necessary evil, something that can be risky (though the risks are mitigated by slowly and carefully habituating wild animals to human proximity and through safeguards) but has great benefits by engaging and investing the local community in the care and well-being of the animals and their habitat. She’s open about the mistakes she has made, working with organizations she didn’t trust and making assumptions about the rural humans she was working with. The beginning of the book is fascinating, watching her learn from experts all over the world and become an expert herself in a field that basically didn’t exist before her. The ending is similarly interesting, as she starts to diversify her non-profit’s work through ethically-grown coffee and then as she deals with the global COVID-19 pandemic. However, most of the middle of the book is just about starting her non-profit, various funding mechanisms, and lists of donors. Definitely skim or skip that part.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (3.5/5)

>84 elorin: He quoted Anne of Green Gables - "Isn't it a splendid thing that there are mornings?" Well then, I like him too. (Not that I know much about mornings, being a night owl.)

>64 norabelle414: I am a big fan of magnolia trees and love the scent of their blossoms.

>63 MickyFine: Thank you!

>66 humouress: Having graduated directly into the 2009 financial collapse I'm generally skeptical of people whose job is ~*~finance~*~ (aside from accountants) but he is nice and doesn't make me feel bad about about my life (e.g. not owning a home) which is more than I can say for my family.

>67 elorin: DC has such a reputation for cherry blossoms that everyone assumes any flowering tree here is a cherry blossom, which is disappointing because the other trees are really spectacular. Justice for redbuds and ornamental plums and magnolias and dogwoods! (jail for bradford pears)

>64 norabelle414: If you like sifting through evidence than I do believe you'd like the game Strange Horticulture (which is available digitally on Switch) if you haven't tried it already. It involves identification of fantastical plants, running an apothecary, and solving a series of riddles and puzzles to a very Lovecraftian mystery (without the racism I promise).
If you have played this, ignore me.
My old apartment had a bunch of magnolia trees around the property and I adored going on morning walks to look them over. The smell is so meditative alone.

It's Monday!

Yesterday I read a bit, relaxed a bit, tidied my apartment. I did not move my furniture away from the HVAC as my little protest against management not notifying me of routine maintenance until Friday at 6pm. They can do that themselves. I did not get as much laundry done as I wanted to, but some laundry is better than no laundry.

Today I'm at the office. After work I'm going to my brother's house to see my mom. Tomorrow and Wednesday will probably be the same. Tonight is the final four of March Mammal Madness but my bracket is completely bust (RIP Narwhal) so I'll just watch a recap later. Jury duty Thursday.

Currently reading:
Finished Galaxy: The Prettiest Star. I have 40 pages left in Potomac Fever, which is well in the range of possible to finish today, but not guaranteed. Listening to Careless People and loving the author/narrator's New Zealand accent even as the things she says make me cringe. Next up in paper is The Last Graduate.
March plans: Potomac Fever
April plans: The Last Graduate, Careless People
Reviews behind: 1
Consecutive reading days: 88

Currently watching:
Caught up on The Americas (I particularly enjoyed the gulf coast episode), Long Bright River e3, Taskmaster Australia s3e3

>69 Ravenwoodwitch: I did enjoy Strange Horticulture, but I found the plant identification part a bit annoying. I should play it again, though, it's been awhile. Thanks for the reminder.

>70 norabelle414: No, not narwhal! I thought it was a shoo-in.

I hope you have a great visit with your mom while she's in town.

March in Review (YTD)

Books Read: 11 (32)
Pages Read: 1,877 (4,357)
Time listened: 05:42:56 (87:18:11)

Mine: 2 (7)
Library: 6 (21)
Borrowed: 3 (4)

Male authors: 2 (9)
Female authors: 9 (22)
Non-Binary: 1 (2)

New-to-me authors: 6 (16)
Authors of Color: 3 (5)
Queer Authors: 3 (9)
US/UK/Canada authors: 9 (28)
Other: 2 - Italy, Uganda (4 - Germany, Italy, Japan, Uganda)

Print-Prose: 5 (14)
Print-Comics: 2 (5)
Print-Picture: 3 (4)
Audio: 1 (9)

Fiction: 8 (26)
Nonfiction: 3 (6)

Publication years:
2025
2023
2022
2020
2010
1993
1982

Re-reads: 2 (3)

Best of the month: A Deadly Education / Piranesi (tie)
Worst of the month: The Bedwetter

>72 MickyFine: Narwhal lost to polar bear, which is understandable but disappointing!

It's Tuesday!

Yesterday I went to my brother's house to see my mom. She made Indian curry for dinner and my niece liked it so much she ate spoonfuls of just the sauce. My mom brought several of my childhood books with her, so before bed we read Let's Make Rabbits and Stellaluna. I didn't get home until very late. The apartment maintenance apparently went fine, but they did not move my couch back in front of the HVAC (fair).

Today after work I'm going to my brother's house again. Nothing exciting going on there, except that they got a fence so now the dog can spend more unsupervised time outside (he's usually very good about staying in the backyard but he loses all sense of decorum when he sees the neighbors' cat, whom he's in love with).

Currently reading:
I just barely finished Potomac Fever: Reflections on the Nation's River on the ride home last night. Started The Last Graduate on the bus this morning.
April plans: The Last Graduate, Careless People, Spider-Gwen #2
Reviews behind: 4
Consecutive reading days: 89

Currently watching:
Nothing

>75 norabelle414: Stellaluna is one of my childhood favorites, too :)

Happy Thursday!

Tuesday after work I picked my nephew up from daycare. On the way home I twisted my knee, not badly enough that I can't walk on it but it hurts a lot. Other than that Tuesday and Wednesday were uneventful. Enjoyed spending time with my family but got home late.

This morning I got up bright and early for jury duty. I read for several hours in the jury assembly room and then the trial was postponed and I was dismissed. All done. By the time I got home and ate lunch it was 2pm so I just took the rest of the day off. I returned some books to the library and checked out some holds. It's incredibly hot and humid here so I'm anticipating a bad night of sleep. My knee is feeling a lot better but still hurts when I turn while walking or sit funny.

Tomorrow I'm teleworking. Saturday I'm probably going to Ikea with my mom, brother, niece, and nephew if my brother can work out the logistics. Saturday night I'm getting dinner with a friend who is in town for the cherry blossom festival. Sunday I will probably get lunch with my mom before she leaves since she's leaving from the airport near my apartment.

Currently reading:
Well over halfway done with The Last Graduate now. Next up will be The Ministry of Time.
April plans: The Last Graduate, Careless People, Spider-Gwen #2, The Ministry of Time, Stories of Your Life and Others
Reviews behind: 4
Consecutive reading days: 91

Currently watching:
Caught up on Marie Antoinette s2 and Good Cop / Bad Cop (Leighton Meester's real-life husband Adam Brody is in the latest episode playing a very annoying rodeo veterinarian and it's extremely funny)

29. Galaxy: The Prettiest Star written by Jadzia Axelrod, illustrated by Vash Taylor

Taylor is a normal teen boy who plays basketball, loves David Bowie, and lives with his dad, older brother, younger sister, and cute corgi. When he befriends the new girl in town, Kat, he lets her in on the secret that rules his life - Taylor is actually a girl in hiding, an alien princess from a destroyed planet. If she reveals her true self her family’s enemies will find her. But after showing Kat her true self and being embraced, Galaxy realizes she doesn’t ever want to go back into hiding.

The art in this graphic novel is stunning, and it was a pleasure to read. The overall story is well-meaning, but it fell flat for me. I enjoyed the initial references to Ozma in The Land of Oz, but they didn’t go anywhere after signposting that Taylor is really a princess hiding out as a girl. Despite knowing before going in that this character crosses over with Dreamer, who crosses over with Supergirl, who is Superman’s cousin, I was still a little surprised when there were a bunch of Superman references up front. That’s on me! It makes a better correlation with transness, since everyone in this world knows that aliens exist but is still xenophobic about it. The ‘resolution’ to that is just that Galaxy spends all of her time with her girlfriend, which I find concerning. Frustratingly it’s never made clear why Galaxy had to pretend to be a boy instead of just a normal human girl. The book is part of DC’s young adult line, but I think the story is closer to middle grade.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

30. Let’s Make Rabbits written and illustrated by Leo Lionni

A pencil and a pair of scissors make two rabbits, one drawn and the other cut out of brightly patterned paper. After eating a drawn and a cut paper carrot (respectively), the rabbits take a nap. When they wake up they are still hungry and they find something new to eat…a REAL carrot. They can tell it’s real because it has a shadow, and after eating it, the two rabbits have shadows too.

I loved this when I was a kid, and it’s still a delight. The style of art is so clever, with its combination of simple pencil outline, paper collage, and realistic drawing. The story is simple and fun, and it’s stuck with me for so many years

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

31. Stellaluna written and illustrated by Janell Cannon

A tiny baby fruit bat gets separated from her mother in a thunderstorm and winds up in a bird’s nest. She tries her hardest to be a bird - stays awake during the day, eats bugs, stands right-side-up. But nothing works. When she and her adopted siblings leave the nest they run into a group of bats who show Stellaluna who she really is.

A little darker at the beginning than I remembered, so I skimmed over some parts while reading it to my niece for the first time. After that she knew what was going to happen so I felt more comfortable with the fright and getting separated from her mother. I really enjoy that everyone in this story is nice. The bird family is very welcoming to Stellaluna and the bird mother takes care of her just like her own kids, without question or ridicule. Stellaluna's efforts to be something she's not come mostly from herself, not external forces (aside from a couple comments about her being upside down). I also enjoyed the reversal at the end when the bird siblings meet the group of bats and try to fit in. Still a nice book, after all these years, with beautiful, vivid, and biologically accurate art. And I’m always happy to see a positive representation of bats.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

32. Potomac Fever: Reflections on the Nation’s River by Charlotte Taylor Fryar

LibraryThing Early Reviewer book

An examination of the history of the Potomac River, both in the natural history of the animals, plants, and waterways around it, and the racial history it has intersected with. Featuring chapters on sycamore, bald eagle, ephemerals, ramps, the Anacostia, honeysuckle, swimming, pawpaws, drought, Tiber Creek, and bones.

The racial history of the Washington DC area is unique, and complicated, and overlooked. It’s a relief to read a book that addresses it head-on, without looking away. To also engage with the nature around me is a joy. Some of both aspects of the book I was already familiar with, but it was nice to be reminded of the history of my place and to connect all things together. The book is well-researched and the endnotes contain both further reading for myself and also sources I vividly remember devouring years ago. I do think that the book could use a better subtitle - while “reflections on the nation’s river” isn’t inaccurate, it might be passed over by people looking for racial history of the DC area, which would be a shame. I’m not sure I can recommend it to anyone who isn’t familiar with the area, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

>79 norabelle414: >80 norabelle414: Thank you for letting us know about Let’s Make Rabbits and Stellaluna! I requested both of them!

Happy weekend!

Karen O

>81 norabelle414: This is my 700th review posted on LT!

>82 klobrien2: I've got another one incoming for you soon, probably Saturday

700 reviews, wow! I appreciate the ones I have read, you do well describing the books you've read. Here's to many more!

Congrats on 700 reviews! Hope you're having a good weekend.

>68 norabelle414: You've probably seen it, but a meme this year that made me chuckle was pruning instructions for bradford pear trees: using a chainsaw, make one horizontal cut at the base of the trunk.

>84 elorin: >85 bell7: Thanks Robyn and Mary! I started reviewing every book I read in 2017 (before that I was more sporadic) and it's helped me a lot. I remember books better after I review them, and it's also made me better at writing, both reviews and otherwise.

>86 foggidawn: Too funny!

Hello hello, Nora, I hope you are doing well.

Gosh, I remember Stellaluna from whence I was a youngin'. The nostalgia on that cover is paletable.
I'm sorry about your knee and I hope that heals up.

>80 norabelle414: That seems a bizarre story...

By the way, I posted the skirt pictures. I took a while because I've been incredibly burned out and am only doing necessary things.

It's Monday!

Friday I teleworked and the day was uneventful. Saturday I got up early and went to my brother's house. We were going to try all going to Ikea but my brother thought it would be too stressful (understandable!) so he went to Ikea with the baby and my mom and niece and I went to a coffee shop and then to the library. She was not as energetic as usual and when we got home she had a bit of a fever and slept the rest of the day. In the evening, I went to dinner with some friends who were in town for the Cherry Blossom Race (10 miler? Idk what it's called). Yesterday I got up early to watch my friends race for a bit and then back home to hang out with my mom for a bit before her flight in the early afternoon, then I went out to meet up with a neighbor who had a copy of Orbital that she was done with and wanted to pass along. Exhausting weekend.

Starting this week I'm switching from being in the office Mon-Tue-Wed to Mon-Tue-Fri. Nothing much going on this week. Saturday I'm probably going out to dinner with my friends (my actual birthday is on Monday but I don't have time to do much after work.)

Currently reading:
I finished The Last Graduate and am still reeling! about 100 pages into The Ministry of Time. I might keep it in my bag and start Stories of Your Life and Others before bed, but based on Exhalation (which I read last year) I think some of the stories will probably be similar to The Ministry of Time so maybe I should pick something more different to read concurrently.
April plans: Careless People, Spider-Gwen #2, The Ministry of Time, Stories of Your Life and Others
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 95

Currently watching:
Wolf Hall s2e2, Taskmaster Australia s3e4, the season finale of The White Lotus (not my favorite season but it was good)

>88 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks Angela! I still get a bit of a twinge sometimes but mostly my knee is fine.

>89 The_Hibernator: Stellaluna? I think it's pretty standard picture book fare. Basically just The Ugly Duckling, but with bats and birds.

It's Tuesday.

Not much going on. Last night for dinner I was planning to make Indian curry with turnips I got in my CSA and a jar of curry sauce from the store, but the turnips had worms. I spent quite awhile carefully cutting around them but it was so much work and I was so tired that I just threw all the turnips away and had a frozen dinner. I really hate cooking. I read before bed and turned out the light about 45 minutes before I usually do last night, very proud of myself, but I'm still pretty tired today.

Currently reading:
I read The Ministry of Time before bed and on the bus. I think I'd rather finish it before starting Stories of Your Life. I'm not loving it as much as I thought I would; my expectations were too high and it's a little less genre-y than I prefer.
April plans: Careless People, Spider-Gwen #2, The Ministry of Time, Stories of Your Life and Others
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 96

Currently watching:
Caught up on St. Denis Medical, one episode of Long Bright River and one episode of Wild Cards

Murderbot has a trailer!
https://youtu.be/vEioDeOiqEs?si=uv3e-EbA625Ve8Ng

>93 norabelle414: I am very cautiously optimistic and excited.

>94 curioussquared: I don't love the song they picked for the trailer, but that's almost always done by a completely separate company so I don't think it'll have any impact on the show. Other than that I really like it!

>95 norabelle414: I thought the same thing! The song was giving it kind of a cheery slapstick vibe that was throwing me off until I started tuning it out. Without the song I think the tone feels very close to the books.

Polar seltzer: I am intrigued :)

>93 norabelle414: I am looking forward to this! Pretty sure I'll even break down and get a subscription...

>97 libraryperilous: It's been cooler here for a few days so I haven't been drinking seltzer but I will report back when I try a new Polar flavor

>98 bell7: For watching new shows, AppleTV+ is probably the best bang for your buck, especially for book adaptations. It's much cheaper than the other services and all of their shows are very well-written. It doesn't have the huge back catalog that other streaming services has, but that's not really what I'm in it for.

Happy Friday!

I'm in the office today, the first week of my new schedule. Transition for me has been rough. I had gotten used to the gradual transition of office > telework > weekend so I felt out-of-sorts yesterday. I think overall it's going to be good for my productivity and I'm looking forward to potentially leaving my computer at the office over the weekends.

Tomorrow evening I'm going to the board game bar with my usual 2 friends and their spouses and I've also invited my new friend to come, so that should be exciting. It's kind of an early birthday celebration but all that means is that I'm forcing everyone to play board games with me. Sunday I'll bake a cake to take to work on Monday (which is my actual birthday). Monday evening I might make a guest appearance at trivia but leave early.

Currently reading:
I finished The Ministry of Time yesterday afternoon and I have a lot of thoughts but it's going to take me a bit to organize them. I have about 4 hours left in Careless People, which is due back to the library on Tuesday. It's extremely cringey! I started Stories of Your Life and Others on the bus this morning.
April plans: Careless People, Spider-Gwen #2, Stories of Your Life and Others
Reviews behind: 3
Consecutive reading days: 99

Currently playing:
Went through Strange Horticulture again to get a different ending, and now I'm backing up a few days to get a couple Steam achievements

Currently watching:
The Americas (the episode on The Caribbean was so good! They used new technology to get footage of sperm whales no one has ever seen before, and even the sailfish footage was extremely fascinating), the finale of A Thousand Blows (fine but not as good as similar shows that have been canceled), the season 3 premiere of SurrealEstate, started the new show Dying for Sex

33. Nora’s Stars written and illustrated by Satomi Ichikawa, translated by ? (I did not note the translator when I was reading the book, I need to go back and do that)

A little girl named Nora visits her grandmother. The room she stays in has a trunk full of toys that play with her in the night. Nora admires the stars in the sky so the toys bring them down for her to play with. But the sky looks sad and dark without its stars, so she puts them back (before Grandmother wakes up and finds out she’s still awake and playing)

This was one of my favorite books as a kid, for obvious reasons, which I’ve now passed down to my niece.. The watercolor (I think?) art is so beautiful and brings back so many memories. The story is simple but very imaginative and a little bit mischievous. I’m glad I got to reread it as an adult.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (5/5)

34. The Last Graduate (Scholomance, book 2) by Naomi Novik

For two centuries, the Scholomance has protected magical teenagers in the best way it can - by challenging them and pushing them as hard as possible for 4 years so they’ll be prepared for a graduation that half of them might survive. But then along came Galadriel and Orion, so powerful and noble they can’t be stopped, and suddenly the Scholomance sees another way. It pesters Galadriel until she sees it too - what if, instead of forming small alliances to share power and resources and increasing one’s own chances of survival at the expense of the weak, the entire school unionized and all graduated together, saving each other?

This is everything I’ve ever wanted a magic school story to be. I thought I loved the first book but then El said fuck the enclaves and unionized the students?? Incredible! I loved that the Scholomance became a bit more of its own character in this book, and its schemes to push Galadriel in the direction it needed her to go were brilliant. I cried a lot through the whole ending. I did not love what happens at the last page, but that’s what the next book is for.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (5/5)

>93 norabelle414: The trailer does look fun but my mental picture of Murderbot has always leaned a little feminine so I had a negative reaction to Skarsgard in the role. I'm sure he'll be great but my brain doesn't like it.

>102 norabelle414: I'm glad you continue to enjoy the trilogy. Hopefully you have the third book handy so that you can resolve that cliffhanger quickly.

Stories from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang:

Tower of Babylon: Hillalum the miner gets a special job - he climbs for years to the top of the tower of Babylon, past the sun and the stars, to where it rests against the heavens. Finishing the project will require mining, but upward. Along his journey he meets the people who live on the tower and learns about their lives, and considers whether Yahweh approves or disapproves of the tower. What will the miners find when they finally break through?
A lovely myth. What happens with the tower is huge and fascinating, but the real joy is the journey itself.

Stories from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang:

Understand: A man who has lost brain function in a terrible accident is brought back to consciousness by an experimental treatment. The treatment makes him thousands of times more intelligent than everyone else, to the point where he is able to escape from medical oversight and devote himself to making the world perfect through technology. He learns to control the world around him and erases every record of himself, making himself undetectable. And surely if there was someone out there as intelligent as him, he'd be able to detect them, right?
This is the first Ted Chiang story I've read that I really disliked. It's way too long and most of it is boring and flat, like if Murderbot didn't care about TV or humans and was never in any real danger or trying to achieve any goals. The ending is interesting but it doesn't even start until 3/4 of the way through. It's one of Chiang's earliest works and I think if he wrote it 25-30 years later it would be 8 pages instead of 40.

>103 MickyFine: I think Skarsgard is going to be fine in the role but it is a bit disappointing that a non-binary actor wasn't given the opportunity.

Don't worry! The 3rd book is in my grubby little hands, and it's in the sweet spot of several-copies-no-holds

Happy Sunday!

Friday I left my laptop at the office, ooh la la! I did nothing in the evening. Yesterday I went to the board game bar with my friends and we played Exploding Kittens, Ticket to Ride, and Apples to Apples. It went really well, my new friend got along great with my usual friends. Everyone really liked the vibe at the bar. Next time I might bring my own board games, though, because pickings were slim (especially for a group of 6).

This morning I went to the grocery store. This evening I'm going to bake a cake to take into the office tomorrow. I'm thinking chocolate cake with brown sugar whipped cream on top.

Tomorrow after work I'm going to trivia for a little bit. The rest of the week? nothing much.

Currently reading:
I have about an hour left in Careless People and now I get why Facebook did not want this book to come out. Mark Zuckerberg being a moron and Sheryl Sandberg being an abusive hypocrite are one thing, but the end is actual evidence of Facebook doing quite a lot of illegal things. Moving along slowly in Stories of Your Life and Others. Not sure what's next.
April plans: Careless People, Spider-Gwen #2, Stories of Your Life and Others
Reviews behind: 1
Consecutive reading days: 101

Currently watching:
Taskmaster Australia s3e5, caught up on Last Week Tonight, started season 14 of Call the Midwife, watched the first episode of Your Friends and Neighbors

Happy birthday one day early!

>60 norabelle414:, >107 norabelle414: Careless People
I just finished this a few days ago. Definitely a Streisand effect. I ordered it immediately after listening to this podcast.

101 Oh, that's gorgeous artwork!

I'm glad you had a grand time at the board game bar and that mixing of friends went well.

I'll wish you a happy birthday early in case I don't make it to LT tomorrow.

I'll be interested in your review of Careless People, though I don't know if/when I'll get to it.

>108 elorin: Thank you Robyn!

>109 qebo: I wasn't expecting to get to it so quickly, it was just luck that I put a hold on it a few hours before 200 other people did

>110 libraryperilous: Isn't it beautiful? There's so much detail

>111 MickyFine: Thanks Micky!

>112 bell7: I won't keep you waiting long!

Happy Birthday Nora! :D

>114 Ape: YOU"RE ALIVE!???!!!
(thank you!)

>114 Ape: Ape?!?!? Hi!!!!!

Happy birthday, Nora!

Happy birthday, Nora!

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, Nora!!

Happy birthday, Nora! I hope you have a good day! 🎂

Happy birthday!

And happy to see an Ape in the house!

Happy birthday, Nora!

Almost missed it... Happy Birthday!

Have fun at trivia 🙂

35. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

The UK government has discovered time travel technology and used it to bring a member of the Franklin Expedition into our time (along with several others from various points in history). A government translator takes on the job of his handler. She lives with him, teaching him how to assimilate to the modern day while also monitoring his progress and his vital signs and reporting back to the Ministry. She never questions why her charge needs to be monitored so closely, or what the Ministry’s plans for him are, until other time travelers, and her own handler, start to disappear.

I liked this book, but it felt like I should have loved it because all of the parts are things that I love. The time travel is very interesting but really overshadowed in the later half by the thriller plot, which is not very well executed. Commentary on class and race and marginalization is touched on but not really explored, but the examination of the immigrant experience is quite good. Some aspects of the ending were very good. I was very interested in Commander Gore’s different timelines based on whether he learned about Auschwitz or 9/11 first and became anti-fascist or fascist, but there just wasn’t a lot to it. Not a bad read at all but a bit disappointing because it had so much potential.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

36. Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism {audiobook} by Sarah Wynn-Williams, narrated by Sarah Wynn-Williams

As a young, idealistic diplomat from New Zealand, in 2011 Sarah saw Facebook and saw the future. She thought it had the power to shape the future into something more connected and egalitarian. She convinced Facebook leadership to hire her for an international relations position that did not exist, because Facebook at the time was uninterested in world governments. Over the next several years Sarah influenced Facebook to become a global force, while also watching helplessly as it committed moral and legal transgressions to get there.

There are three throughlines of this book, which work in concert:
Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Joel Kaplan (current president of global affairs for Meta, and Sarah’s immediate boss at the time) are absolutely awful people;
Facebook has done, and is probably still doing, some horrible and illegal shit; and
Sarah was incredibly naive.

The first item is why you read a book like this. Truly wild stories about Zuckerberg throwing a hissy fit over losing a game of Settlers of Catan (because everyone always lets him win), Sandberg requiring young female staff to sleep in the bed with her on her private jet, Kaplan asking Sarah in a work meeting to describe her recent traumatic childbirth to him in detail while also giving her a poor performance review because she was unavailable on maternity leave. The gossip is hot, but most damning for Sandberg. Zuckerberg is a known megalomaniac and Kaplan is a known right-wing creep, but Sandberg’s berating female service workers and covering up workplace sexual harassment aren’t exactly Lean-In-Feminist.

The second item is why Facebook didn’t want this book published. Obviously at this point most people are aware of Facebook’s general bad vibes, but it is really much worse than you think. Facebook actively worked with the Trump campaign (via Kaplan, of course) in 2016 to assist them in spreading misinformation far and wide. They gave free internet access (which could only be used to access Facebook) to the entire country of Myanmar while also employing only ONE contracted moderator who spoke Burmese, and the “report” button didn’t work. And, of course, Facebook built special tools for the Chinese government to use to spy on and restrict the speech of their citizens (and potentially US citizens), culminating in testifying in Congress that they had not and would not do such a thing. It’s damning stuff, even when you think you’re expecting it.

The third item is where things get rough. It’s one thing for young Sarah to be idealistic and sweet-talk her way into a job that she thinks is going to change the world. But she absolutely should have gotten out at many different points earlier. She openly recognizes this, and how naive she was about how bad things were or how little she could change from the inside, but it still drags the narrative down a bit. Of course the book highlights all of the times things went wrong, and not the times things went fine, because that’s what’s entertaining, but I was still screaming “Just say no!” at the audiobook every time her bosses made her go to an undeveloped country while 8 months pregnant or conducted her performance evaluation over Zoom while half naked in bed. She always came up with some reason not to leave - she thought she could change things, she needed the visa, she needed the health insurance, she was going to leave right after one more project, etc. She is a lawyer with experience with embassies, the IMF, and OxFam, I have a hard time believing she couldn’t find any other job for five years. My annoyance with her choices tempered this otherwise juicy book.

It is a net good, for civilization, that these events have been documented. Despite having a gag order preventing her from promoting the book, Sarah Wynn-Williams testified before congress about its contents last week. It’s worth reading now, while it’s popular (especially the audiobook, she has a great accent). But Facebook is still pulling the same crap so I’m not convinced it’s groundbreaking.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

Thank you for the birthday wishes Stephen, foggi, Mary, Rachel, jdavidhacker, Natalie, Diana, Jim, Irene, and Katie!

It is, somehow, only Tuesday again.

Sunday afternoon I made a cake to bring into the office yesterday. It was quiet at the office yesterday; this year all of the spring breaks in the area have lined up so most of my leadership is on leave this week. After work I went to trivia on a week night as a little (exhausting) treat. My team did pretty badly - 6th place out of 10.

Today after work I'm going to my brother's house. Wednesday and Thursday I'll be teleworking, and I think I'll stop by the library at some point.

Currently reading:
I finished Careless People on Sunday. I'm way behind on podcasts so I need a break from audiobooks for a couple weeks (a thing I've said many times before...). I've listened to over 100 hours so far this year! Still moving along in Stories of Your Life and Others, which I'd like to finish on Sunday at the latest. Probably The Golden Enclaves after that, but I'm not certain.
April plans: Spider-Gwen #2, Stories of Your Life and Others, The Golden Enclaves
Reviews behind: 0!
Consecutive reading days: 103

Currently watching:
Caught up on Abbott Elementary, watched one episode of Wild Cards but I had technical difficulties so it took me quite a long time. I just realized this weekend that getting kicked off my friend's Disney+ account means I can't watch Doctor Who. Devastating! I'll probably wait until the season is done and then subscribe for a month.

Stories from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang:

Division by Zero - Genius mathematician Renee discovers that 1 + 1 does not equal 2. In fact, any number can equal any other number and mathematics is not real. This sends her into an existential breakdown. Meanwhile, her husband Carl, normally very empathetic, does not understand what she's going through and it causes him to no longer have any feelings for her.
The plot of this story is fine, but it's the structure that really set it apart. Each chapter contains a main part (a couple paragraphs of the history of mathematics), part a (a couple paragraphs from Renee's point of view), and part b (a couple paragraphs of Carl's point of view), until the end when they all come together and a=b (this makes it sound long but it's only 20 pages). The parallel of 1 + 1 no longer equaling 2 and the dissolution of their relationship bond is quite beautiful.

Stories from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang:

Story of Your Life - A linguist works with aliens who experience existence non-linearly. As she learns their language she begins to think like them too, experiencing her own life as a whole instead of a sequence of events. Interspersed with her linguistics work are memories of her unborn daughter, who will die in an accident as a young adult.
Blasphemously, I did not totally love this one. I really enjoyed the aliens, and the puzzle of figuring out how their language works, and the linguistic trick that many statements can be interpreted as either descriptive of intention or of what is inevitable. I finished this story last night and even had a dream that I was living my own life non-linearly! But the big message of Louise having a child even though she already knows the pain she's going to go through overshadows more interesting aspects that could be explored: Does she have free will, and if not, how does she feel about that? Does she tell anyone else that she knows the destination, such as her husband from whom she will eventually divorce? Does she feel isolated? How does knowing the destination change her behavior? I wanted more of that and less sappiness.

Happy Friday!

Tuesday after work I went to my brother's house. The 3yo was being a little tantrum-y but it smoothed over and I got to give BOTH kids a bath before bedtime, which was fun. The 9mo and I practiced our standing (he's very big so a little behind on picking himself up). I also got to read the 9mo some books, which I'm not sure I had ever done before! (Usually I'm entertaining the 3yo so the 9mo can have a peaceful bedtime). The 3yo "read" Caps for Sale to us but she hasn't figured out which direction books go in so it ended up being a story about a bunch of monkeys who got their caps stolen by a man.

Wednesday I teleworked. I tried to get some laundry done toward the end of the work day but the laundry room was locked and my fob didn't work...I asked at the front desk and they said the lock was being re-keyed and to come back in half an hour but I went back down several more times throughout the evening and it was still locked. Extremely annoying! They are supposed to send out an email when amenities are closed, but they did not. Yesterday I did manage to get laundry done early in the day. I went to the library to return 2 books, pick up 3 holds, and ended up checking out 6 more books from the shelves. Whoops! I've now got a stack of 16 paper library books on my couch. It's comforting. I also made curry for dinner (jarred sauce with chickpeas and sauteed shallots).

Today I'm in the office. This evening I have an online hangout to attend, while folding the rest of my clean laundry. I also need to rotate my mattress, which I always do on around my birthday and half-birthday.

Nothing else going on this weekend...I feel like I have something to do on Saturday but I can't remember what....oh well.

Currently reading:
Chugging along in Stories of Your Lives and Others. These stories have very interesting concepts but they tend to get bogged down in overexplaining the world instead of letting the reader take it for granted and move on to the effects. I have 2.5 stories to go.
April plans: Spider-Gwen #2, Stories of Your Life and Others, The Golden Enclaves, some romance novel
Reviews behind: 0!
Consecutive reading days: 106

Currently watching:
I rewatched all of the first season of The Last of Us and the first episode of season 2. Watched Wolf Hall s2e3 and Marie Antoinette s2e3 and also the series premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for no particular reason. I'm not sure I'll continue.

Two things I've meant to mention recently but keep forgetting:

1) The zoo book club has announced the next 3 books: Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains, and The Zookeeper's Wife. I'm annoyed about the first, since we read it 3 years ago when I ran the book club, but I know it's not personal because someone also suggested that we read West with Giraffes which was the book club book in NOVEMBER 2024. I'm excited for the second since I've been meaning to get to it for awhile, but there's going to be a lot of overlap between those first two. The third book I am neutral on.

2) I would like to reread all of the Thursday Next series before the 8th book comes out. Jasper Fforde's social media says it will be 2025. But it seems like such a leap of faith. Can I get through all 7 books in a few months? (I don't reread much because it doesn't capture my attention the way reading a new book does, so I'm not sure I trust myself.) Is there really going to be a new Thursday Next book after all this time?

The 3yo "read" Caps for Sale to us but she hasn't figured out which direction books go in so it ended up being a story about a bunch of monkeys who got their caps stolen by a man.
Hahahaha I can picture that and I love this so much.

I liked "Story of Your Life" more than you did, but I'd already seen Arrival so maybe that affected how I responded to it?

>132 norabelle414: I thought about this some more and my library has audiobooks of all the Thursday Next books so I think I'll just dive in and aim for one book per month and if I can't keep up momentum I'll switch to audio. Now the next question: which of my several editions of The Eyre Affair do I start with??

>133 bell7: I thought maybe it would be the opposite, that I would have liked it more if I didn't know the premise beforehand? (I've never seen Arrival but I know the gist.)

Stories from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang:

Seventy-Two Letters - In a world where the homunculus theory of evolution (a real theory from the 1600s-1700s that all beings that will ever exist were created at once and exist whole in tiny form in the sperm of their father) is true, Victorian inventor Robert Stratton is approached by a biologist who has proven that humanity will only last a few more generations before all the sperm babies run out. Together they can devise a way for new humans to be created using a combination of homunculi and golem technology (also real in this world). Robert is pulled in different directions - a theologian would like to share the technology so humans can be closer to God, while one of Robert's colleagues believes that the elite should gatekeep the technology to prevent the lower classes from having more children than necessary.
This was another miss for me. The ending was great but the homunculus theory is ridiculous and extremely sexist and it's not pleasant to read 40 pages of detail about it. There's too much explaining how the world is different, much of it not really relevant to the story, and not enough consequences of the world being different.

The Evolution of Human Science - An editor's note in a scientific journal points out that humans do not do any science anymore because metahumans do all the science and humans just need to translate it into concepts understandable to regular humans.
I really enjoyed this one. It's short and sweet and you expect there to be a conflict but there isn't. Everything is genuinely fine.

Caps for Sale was a family favorite when our kids were little, and we probably still have it in the box of children's books we have stored away. I loved your description of the 3yo reading it. What a hoot.

>136 lauralkeet: It's a very cute one! They have it both in board book format and picture book, one for each kid

(I spent a long time writing a review of this story and then accidentally refreshed the page and lost it, boo hoo!!!)

Stories from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang:

Hell Is the Absence of God - Neil Fisk lost his wife in a visitation, a seemingly-frequent event where an angel visits earth and causes a lot of destruction and also a few blessings. Bystanders saw her soul rise up to heaven, so Neil knows if he wants to be with her again he will need to become devout and worthy of heaven. He tries to love God but is too upset and frustrated over the loss of his wife. The only other way is to chase visitations in the hopes of being blessed by an angel. He succeeds, is blessed by the angel, fully loves God, becomes completely devout, has his soul saved, and dies and goes to hell anyway.
A total miss for me. I don't believe in God and feel like there must be something I'm missing here, but it seems like the only thing the story has to say is nothing matters, including whether God exists and whether you believe in or love him and that seems unnecessarily cruel. I enjoyed most of the story, but expected it to have something interesting to say at the end, and it did not.

Stories from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang:

Liking What You See: A Documentary - Short segments of differing perspectives at a college about a reversable neurological treatment that prevents subjects from perceiving beauty in human faces. Some people had the treatment as infants and are now getting it turned off as adults, some people are advocating it be mandatory for all students at the college, some opponents are revealed to be paid by the cosmetics industry. Attractive students feel differently about it than unattractive students. People on opposite sites of the debate can agree that beauty discrimination is a problem, but disagree about whether technology is the solution.
Really masterful, especially in form. Everyone's perspectives made sense, on both sides of the debate. The characters grew over time. I was not surprised at the end when the treatment was superseded by another technology which rendered it moot - it felt natural and inevitable.

It's Monday!

Friday after work I watched a livestream and played some Jackbox games. Saturday I read and wrote reviews and mostly did nothing. Sunday I also read and made pizza for dinner and talked to my mom on the phone.

Today I'm in the office. Nothing much going on this week until Thursday, when I'm going to a play.

It's time to buy a new planner - I'm lost without a paper one, and I prefer the academic style of July-June - but buying anything when you want something very specific sucks so much. I went back to my usual planner company, https://www.bluesky.com, but they don't have the size I prefer (3.625x6.125) in the layout I prefer (weekly) anymore so I'll have to get a larger one that won't fit in my pocket. They have a hundred different "designer" covers, though, which I couldn't care less about. Endlessly annoying. I just want the same thing I bought last year!

Currently reading:
I finished Stories of Your Life and Others and read Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse #2. I started reading A Lady for a Duke as my bedside book and just...didn't stop reading for hours. I read 400 pages of it yesterday so I guess it was exactly what I was looking for. (My brain was working overtime with The Ministry of Time and Stories of Your Life back-to-back and needed a break). Not sure what my next bedside book will be; I wasn't anticipating needing one so soon. I also started The Golden Enclaves on the bus this morning.
April plans: The Golden Enclaves, A Lady for a Duke
May plans: The Eyre Affair, Spider-Gwen #3
Reviews behind: 2 (already written, I just need to piece them together)
Consecutive reading days: 109

Currently watching:
I did not watch The Last of Us last night because I went to bed early and I got the episode spoiled for me by a news headline at 10am! Fuck that! I'm still about a week behind on everything but I watched a few more episodes of Mid-century Modern, Long Bright River, Saturday Night Live (the Jack Black and Jon Hamm episodes), and the season finales of The Americas (there's an extra behind-the-scenes episode I haven't watched yet) and Good Cop/Bad Cop (this show turned out to be great fun despite the stupid name, I really hope it gets renewed)

I understand your planner attachment. I relied really heavily on mine during my working days, and it had to be "just so". I hope you're able to find something suitable and adjust to the differences.

>140 norabelle414: OMG, the exact same thing happened to me with The Last of Us. Like WTF??? Who is writing these news headlines?? The episode is barely out?? I saw a similar one for White Lotus the day after a big event and luckily I had already watched that episode, but anyway, I do not like this headline trend.

I don't know if they have the size you want, but I have had good luck with Plum Paper planners. I always designed my own (it's not fully customizable but enough to get me what I want)!

37. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

Tower of Babylon: Hillalum the miner gets a special job - he climbs for years to the top of the tower of Babylon, past the sun and the stars, to where it rests against the heavens. Finishing the project will require mining, but upward. Along his journey he meets the people who live on the tower and learns about their lives, and considers whether Yahweh approves or disapproves of the tower. What will the miners find when they finally break through?
A lovely myth. What happens with the tower is huge and fascinating, but the real joy is the journey itself.
Understand: A man who has lost brain function in a terrible accident is brought back to consciousness by an experimental treatment. The treatment makes him thousands of times more intelligent than everyone else, to the point where he is able to escape from medical oversight and devote himself to making the world perfect through technology. He learns to control the world around him and erases every record of himself, making himself undetectable. And surely if there was someone out there as intelligent as him, he'd be able to detect them, right?
This is the first Ted Chiang story I've read that I really disliked. It's way too long and most of it is boring and flat, like if Murderbot didn't care about TV or humans and was never in any real danger or trying to achieve any goals. The ending is interesting but it doesn't even start until 3/4 of the way through. It's one of Chiang's earliest works and I think if he wrote it 25-30 years later it would be 8 pages instead of 40.
Division by Zero: Genius mathematician Renee discovers that 1 + 1 does not equal 2. In fact, any number can equal any other number and mathematics is not real. This sends her into an existential breakdown. Meanwhile, her husband Carl, normally very empathetic, does not understand what she's going through and it causes him to no longer have any feelings for her.
The plot of this story is fine, but it's the structure that really set it apart. Each chapter contains a main part (a couple paragraphs of the history of mathematics), part a (a couple paragraphs from Renee's point of view), and part b (a couple paragraphs of Carl's point of view), until the end when they all come together and a=b (this makes it sound long but it's only 20 pages). The parallel of 1 + 1 no longer equaling 2 and the dissolution of their relationship bond is quite beautiful.
Story of Your Life: A linguist works with aliens who experience existence non-linearly. As she learns their language she begins to think like them too, experiencing her own life as a whole instead of a sequence of events. Interspersed with her linguistics work are memories of her unborn daughter, who will die in an accident as a young adult.
Blasphemously, I did not totally love this one. I really enjoyed the aliens, and the puzzle of figuring out how their language works, and the linguistic trick that many statements can be interpreted as either descriptive of intention or of what is inevitable. I finished this story last night and even had a dream that I was living my own life non-linearly! But the big message of Louise having a child even though she already knows the pain she's going to go through overshadows more interesting aspects that could be explored: Does she have free will, and if not, how does she feel about that? Does she tell anyone else that she knows the destination, such as her husband from whom she will eventually divorce? Does she feel isolated? How does knowing the destination change her behavior? I wanted more of that and less sappiness.
Seventy-Two Letters: In a world where the homunculus theory of evolution (a real theory from the 1600s-1700s that all beings that will ever exist were created at once and exist whole in tiny form in the sperm of their father) is true, Victorian inventor Robert Stratton is approached by a biologist who has proven that humanity will only last a few more generations before all the sperm babies run out. Together they can devise a way for new humans to be created using a combination of homunculi and golem technology (also real in this world). Robert is pulled in different directions - a theologian would like to share the technology so humans can be closer to God, while one of Robert's colleagues believes that the elite should gatekeep the technology to prevent the lower classes from having more children than necessary.
This was another miss for me. The ending was great but the homunculus theory is ridiculous and extremely sexist and it's not pleasant to read 40 pages of detail about it. There's too much explaining how the world is different, much of it not really relevant to the story, and not enough consequences of the world being different.
The Evolution of Human Science: An editor's note in a scientific journal points out that humans do not do any science anymore because metahumans do all the science and humans just need to translate it into concepts understandable to regular humans.
I really enjoyed this one. It's short and sweet and you expect there to be a conflict but there isn't. Everything is genuinely fine.
Hell Is the Absence of God: Neil Fisk lost his wife in a visitation, a seemingly-frequent event where an angel visits earth and causes a lot of destruction and also a few blessings. Bystanders saw her soul rise up to heaven, so Neil knows if he wants to be with her again he will need to become devout and worthy of heaven. He tries to love God but is too upset and frustrated over the loss of his wife. The only other way is to chase visitations in the hopes of being blessed by an angel. He succeeds, is blessed by the angel, fully loves God, becomes completely devout, has his soul saved, and dies and goes to hell anyway.
A total miss for me. I don't believe in God and feel like there must be something I'm missing here, but it seems like the only thing the story has to say is nothing matters, including whether God exists and whether you believe in or love him and that seems unnecessarily cruel. I enjoyed most of the story, but expected it to have something interesting to say at the end, and it did not.
Liking What You See: A Documentary: Short segments of differing perspectives at a college about a reversible neurological treatment that prevents subjects from perceiving beauty in human faces. Some people had the treatment as infants and are now getting it turned off as adults, some people are advocating it be mandatory for all students at the college, some opponents are revealed to be paid by the cosmetics industry. Attractive students feel differently about it than unattractive students. People on opposite sites of the debate can agree that beauty discrimination is a problem, but disagree about whether technology is the solution.
Really masterful, especially in form. Everyone's perspectives made sense, on both sides of the debate. The characters grew over time. I was not surprised at the end when the treatment was superseded by another technology which rendered it moot - it felt natural and inevitable.

Overall these stories have interesting premises, but the writing is not as spectacular as the stories in Exhalation. If you want to read Ted Chiang - which you should! - I’d recommend reading this collection first, as a lot of these ideas are elaborated on further later and can fall a little flat if you read them in reverse order.
My favorite story from this collection was Liking What You See: A Documentary. My least favorite was Hell Is the Absence of God.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

38. Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse #2 by Tim Seeley, illustrated by Jodi Nishijima and Federico Blee

Thorgwen and Spider-Gwen head to find Cap-Gwen, but Nighthawk-Gwen is hot on their trail. Cap-Gwen heads off to find who made a pinup calendar of her likeness, which leads the three Gwens to Wolvergwen.

A pretty decent installment, but the connections to the larger Marvel universe are confusing. Are Howard Stark and Norman Osborn supposed to be the same age?

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

>141 lauralkeet: Thanks Laura! I know I'll adjust but it's frustrating when I know what I want, and I've gotten it before, but I can't get it now.

>142 curioussquared: I guess there's only a few shows that drop week-to-week now so the media about tv doesn't have anything else to write about? It's frustrating, especially for Sunday night shows which I can almost never watch live.

>143 katiekrug: Thanks Katie, those are cute! It looks like their smallest size is the same as my backup from Blue Sky so I think I'll stick with them. I really loved having one small enough to fit in my pocket but I guess those days are over.

>140 norabelle414:, >142 curioussquared:, >146 norabelle414: I think I saw the spoiler headline you mentioned, Nora (was it on the NYTimes?). I don't even watch the show but it still made me twitch. My daughter, a journalist, has told us that articles often have more than one headline to start and after an initial test period the one that gets the most "engagement" becomes the headline. She was also quick to point out that the writers don't choose the headlines. :)

I hope you have a good day Nora.

>147 lauralkeet: Yeah and in some cases what's posted on social media isn't even the headline on the article itself. I think the one I saw was Vulture (New York Magazine). I had stopped following them on social media a few months ago and then couldn't figure out why since I'm actually a paid subscriber, but now I think I remember.

39. A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Lady’s companion Viola Carroll feels moved to return home and comfort her childhood best friend Duke Gracewood, who is in a deep depression. But when he knew Viola he thought she was a boy, and his depressive state is because he thinks he lost her in the war (along with a good section of his leg). He agrees to her ministrations for the sake of his sister Miranda, who should be courting in London and needs a competent chaperone. Viola and Gracewood develop deep romantic feelings for each other, and inevitably he realizes that he knew her before. A silly thing like gender isn’t going to keep them apart, but the stress of managing a teenage girl’s coming out might.

A perfectly enjoyable spicy regency romance, with a trans main character. It’s an interesting contrast with the other one I’ve read, Unmasked by the Marquess, as Viola is accepted by society as a woman and there’s no social reason she and Gracewood can’t be together as their true selves. That makes the tension feel a little contrived; Viola’s reasoning is that she can’t bear children, which is true of a lot of women and the only difference here is that they know ahead of time and can plan for it.. (It also seems a bit of a cruel argument toward someone whose mother died in childbirth). The rest of the story is great, though. I wasn’t sure about Alexis Hall before, because when I read Boyfriend Material I hated all of the side characters and one of the main characters. I’m glad I gave them a second chance because I really loved all of the side characters in this one, and both of the main characters. They’re very thoughtful people and I enjoy that. Both Viola’s and Gracewood’s lives feel very lived-in, like this could be the 3rd or 4th book in a series. I also really enjoy the Shakespeare reference of Viola's name, and the Beauty and the Beast vibes of the cover art.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

Happy Thursday!

Monday and Tuesday I worked in the office. Uneventful except that the shuttle home on Tuesday was 45 minutes late (for a shuttle that is supposed to come every 20 minutes!) I'm debating changing my schedule so I leave the office earlier to see if an earlier shuttle is late less frequently. I was thinking about going to a new trivia meetup on Tuesday but was too tired by the time I got home.

Yesterday I teleworked. After work I went to the library to return books, pick up a hold, and get a few more books off the shelf. I have 19 paper books out at the moment which is, uh, a lot. But books that get checked out need to be returned which gets me out of the apartment. On the way home I stopped at the liquor store and then at a restaurant to get takeout for dinner. (I'm so thankful I live in a neighborhood where I can do all of these things on one short walk!) The restaurant was unexpectedly full of busloads of kids?? I guess it was the last dregs of spring break but I had no idea buses stopped at this little korean place I like. Good for the restaurant but bad for me getting my food in a timely manner and not getting run into by kids horsing around in a small space.

Today I teleworked, and I'm about to head out to get dinner with my dad and then see Fake It Until You Make It by Larissa Fasthorse. Tomorrow I'm in the office and then watching a podcast livestream. Saturday morning I have a behind-the-scenes tour at the zoo (I'm just attending, not giving the tour) then my friend is going to drive us way out in to the suburbs to go to his friend's bookstore for Independent Bookstore Day.

Currently reading:
I finished A Lady for a Duke on Tuesday. It was a little weird to read 400 pages in one sitting and then take 2 more days to read the next 60. I'm about 25% through The Golden Enclaves, which is currently both purse and bedside book. I shouldn't have any trouble finishing it before the end of the month. I have Clear by Carys Davies out from the library and it can't be renewed so I might try to read that in the next few days since it's short.
April plans: The Golden Enclaves, Clear
May plans: The Eyre Affair, Spider-Gwen #3, another romance
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 111

Currently watching:
I watched The Last of Us on Monday afternoon, but I was distracted the whole time since I already knew what was going to happen. I rewatched season 3 of Hacks and watched the first episode of season 4.

Happy Friday!

Yesterday after work I had dinner with my dad and went to see Fake It Until You Make It by Larissa Fasthorse, a farce about competing Indigenous-focused small non-profits. It was very funny, and afterwards there was a short talk with Elizabeth Rule, author of Indigenous DC.

Today I'm in the office and I have a podcast livestream tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to the zoo early in the morning and then a bookstore. Sunday I'll probably rest. My apartment building turned the A/C on early (legally they're not supposed to turn the heat off until May 1 and the system can't run both heat and A/C at the same time) so it's nice and comfy in my apartment.

Currently reading:
I started Clear on the metro yesterday, so I could finish it before it's due back at the library on Saturday, but then this morning it got unexpectedly renewed! Thanks to whoever returned their copy yesterday. I'm already 50 pages in so I'll still try to finish it before returning to The Golden Enclaves. One of the books I got out from the library on Wednesday was a comic that I thought was a biography of Patricia Highsmith but it's actually a fiction story based on her work where Patricia Highsmith is the main character. I do think I should read some of her work before reading that, so I'm planning to listen to The Price of Salt on audio soon. I'm still way behind on podcasts but whatever.
April plans: The Golden Enclaves, Clear
May plans: The Eyre Affair, Spider-Gwen #3, another romance, The Price of Salt (audio)
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 112

Currently listening:
I'm starting to listen to this year's Eurovision songs but not getting too emotionally involved after all the issues last year. I've only listened to a few so far but Estonia's entry cracks me up.

Currently watching:
Nothing

It's Tuesday.

Friday evening I watched a podcast livestream. Saturday I got up bright and early to go on a tour of the zoo commissary. The National Zoo is one of the few zoos in the country (possibly world) that has a centralized commissary, where individual animal diets are prepared in one central location instead of the zookeepers picking up produce at the commissary and preparing diets themselves. They have a huge kitchen where they wash and chop and weigh fruits and vegetables, measure out 65 different kinds of specialized kibble, and package it into containers for hundreds of animals, 7 days a week. There's a smaller kitchen just for meat and seafood, and an even smaller kitchen just for making cakes out of ice for special occasions (birthdays, holidays, etc.) The guy who runs the commissary used to run several Costcos and he says he runs it just the same. It's really impressive stuff.

After that I went with some friends to the used bookstore that another friend owns for their anniversary sale. I bought The Zookeeper's Wife, Born a Crime, and The Monsters We Defy. For late lunch we went to an indian-italian fusion place, which was very fun. Sunday I caught up on reading, went to the grocery store, caught up on household tasks.

Yesterday I worked in the office, then the shuttle home was 45 minutes late so I was cranky. Today after work I'm going to my brother's house. Wednesday and Thursday are work-from-home days.

Currently reading:
I finished Clear on Sunday. I have about 100 pages left in The Golden Enclaves to get through by the end of tomorrow which is doable but not guaranteed. After that I still haven't decided what I'll read next!
April plans: The Golden Enclaves
May plans: The Eyre Affair, Spider-Gwen #3, another romance, The Price of Salt (audio)
Reviews behind: 1
Consecutive reading days: 117

Currently listening:
I finished listening through all of this year's Eurovision songs. My favorites at the moment are Iceland, Estonia, Sweden, Netherlands, Malta, Georgia, Luxembourg, Finland, Germany, UK

Currently watching:
This weekend I watched Last Week Tonight (from a couple weeks ago), Wolf Hall, Marie Antoinette, Taskmaster Australia, and Wild Cards. Caught up on Hacks and Abbott Elementary, but a week or two behind on everything else.

>152 norabelle414: How nice that the animals have their own canteen ;0)

I remember a few years ago, on a previous visit to DC, my cousins took me to a place which served a 'Chindian' buffet. It's not so much fusion as Chinese food (the usual suspects - fried rice, sweet & sour etc) with Indian flavours.

Hey Nora :)

I think I'm caught up so happy late birthday from me. Cheers to making it another trip round the sun!
The caps for sale story triggered some memories for me as a kid; and your niece's retelling made me cackle.

AND as someone who used to work in the news industry, I can say that writing proper headlines is a trained skill; and you'd be surprised how many still fuck it up royally.

>153 humouress: We have a lot of fusion-y places in the suburbs around here because of all the distinct immigrant communities. My favorite is Korean/Tex-Mex. Very yummy flavors.

>154 Ravenwoodwitch: Hi Angela! Thank you!

Happy Thursday!

Tuesday I went to my brother's house after work. My niece and I read 130 pages of 5-Minute Princess Stories but didn't finish, which is a bummer because if we had I would have counted it toward my total for the month. We discussed the concept of bookmarks so hopefully the next time I'm over we can pick up where we left off.

Yesterday I worked from home and it was uneventful. Today I worked from home and then went to the library. I was planning to return 4 books, then pick up 2 holds and one book from the shelf, thereby reducing the number of books I have checked out to a miniscule 18, but another hold unexpectedly came in so I checked out 4 and broke even.

Currently reading:
I finished The Golden Enclaves last night. Haven't started anything new yet!
May plans: The Eyre Affair, Spider-Gwen #3, another romance, an audiobook
Reviews behind: 2 (mostly written)
Consecutive reading days: 118

Currently playing:
Two Point Museum made some needed user experience improvements so I'm back into it and very much enjoying running an aquarium.

Currently watching:
Taskmaster series 19!

April in Review (YTD)

Books Read: 9 (41)
Pages Read: 2,130 (6,487)
Time listened: 13:16:05 (100:34:16)

Mine: 1 (8)
Library: 7 (28)
Borrowed: 1 (5)

Male authors: 2 (11)
Female authors: 5 (26)
Non-Binary: 1 (2)

New-to-me authors: 3 (19)
Authors of Color: 4 (9)
Queer Authors: 1 (9)
US/UK/Canada authors: 6 (33)
Other: 2 - Japan, New Zealand (5 - Germany, Italy, Japan, Uganda, New Zealand)

Print-Prose: 6 (20)
Print-Comics: 1 (6)
Print-Picture: 1 (5)
Audio: 1 (10)

Fiction: 8 (34)
Nonfiction: 1 (7)

Publication years:
2025
2024
2022
2021
2002
1989

Re-reads: 1 (4)

Best of the month: The Last Graduate (I liked it a hair better than The Golden Enclaves)
Worst of the month: Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse #2 (but honestly it was Oops All Bangers this month)

Happy Friday!

Nothing really to say since I just posted last night. I'm in the office today. Tomorrow I *might* go to a local high school production of Little Shop of Horrors but I haven't decided yet (which probably means no). Sunday morning I have a virtual zoo meeting followed by an in-person volunteer shift, which means I will be attending the virtual meeting from a classroom at the zoo. Weird.

Currently reading:
I read two books by the same author and in the same series last month. That's odd for me! Aside from comics, the only other times that's happened are last year with the Murderbot series and a few times in 2011-2012.
Last night I started The Flatshare as my before-bed book and this morning I started Under the Whispering Door as my purse book.
May plans: The Flatshare, Under the Whispering Door, The Eyre Affair, Spider-Gwen #3, an audiobook
Reviews behind: 2 (mostly written)
Consecutive reading days: 119

Currently listening:
Currently stuck in my head is Sweden's Eurovision entry, Bara Bada Bastu

Currently watching:
Nothing since last night, obviously. I really really need to watch an episode of the Sunday night PBS shows (Wolf Hall, Marie Antoinette, Call the Midwife) tonight because I'm 2 weeks behind and the videos are going to expire soon.

It's Monday.

Friday was uneventful, Saturday I did nothing but read. Sunday I went to the zoo for a volunteer shift and attended an online zoo meeting in the middle of it! The zoo shift was fine, even though the weather was hot and rainy. The pandas were good and I talked to a lot of nice visitors.

Today I'm in the office. No big plans this week.

Currently reading:
I was in the mood for something different so I started rereading The Eyre Affair on Friday. Saturday I wanted to read a bit more of The Flatshare and I ended up reading the whole rest of it (85%) in one sitting. Oops! I decided to have a nonfiction book as my purse book since I haven't read much non-memoir non-fiction lately and I keep getting them out from the library, so I started Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming on Saturday. It's grim. Read a bit of Under the Whispering Door before bed. I still have 19 books out from the library and almost none of them have holds so I can do whatever I want!
May plans: Under the Whispering Door, The Eyre Affair, Spider-Gwen #3, an audiobook, Merchants of Doubt
Reviews behind: 3 (mostly written)
Consecutive reading days: 123

Currently watching:
Caught up on Call the Midwife and Taskmaster Australia. Finished Wolf Hall and Side Quest (the spin-off of Mythic Quest). Watched a bit more Marie Antoinette, Dying for Sex, and Colin from Accounts but not caught up yet. I started new shows Government Cheese and The Stolen Girl, which were not for me, and Sherlock and Daughter, which I'm going to continue.

I keep lists in my local library's catalog of books I want to read, and then as I read them or acquire them or decide I don't want to read them, I delete them from the list. Every year I start a new list to add books to but keep deleting books from old lists as needed. Is this a great TBR system? No. But it makes checking out books from the library dead easy (I can put them on hold straight from the list, and even see which ones are currently on the shelf at my branch) and it's better than my old system which was a piece of paper I kept folded up very small in my wallet. (Where did that piece of paper go, anyway??)

I'd like to make these lists smaller or perhaps even get rid of one?? So here are the current numbers for later comparison:
2016 Wishlist - 9 books
2019 Wishlist - 25 books
2023 Wishlist - 33 books
2024 Wishlist - 82 books
2025 Wishlist - 48 books

40. Clear by Carys Davies

In the late 1700s to early 1800s, wealthy Scottish landowners realized they could make more money from sheep pasture than collecting rent from tenant farmers, so they systematically cleared tenants off their land starting with the lowlands, then the highlands, and lastly the islands. In the 1840s, part of the Church of Scotland broke away over disagreements of the role wealthy landowners should play in the church. In this book, a down-on-his-luck minister of the new church sect, John, is paid by a landowner to travel to a far-flung island to evict the lone man who lives there, Ivar. John has an accident upon arriving at the island and Ivar finds him and nurses him back to health, not knowing who he is.

While I do love a book that inspires me to do homework, I felt there could have been some more explanation of both Scottish clearance and the Church schism up front. There wasn’t enough context for me to really understand John Ferguson’s motivations, and upon reading more after finishing the book I have questions about the contradiction of working for the kind of person he believes the church should distance itself from. As a personal examination of John, Ivar, and Mary, though, it is wonderful. The themes of isolation and caring for each other as humans are really beautiful, and the linguistics aspect of John learning Ivar’s obscure language was very fun.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

41. The Golden Enclaves (Scholomance, book 3) by Naomi Novik

Having now graduated back into the real world, El reunites with some of her classmates to accomplish her dream of creating enclaves for everyone, not just the powerful few, while also continuing to refuse to fulfill the prophecy that she will bring death and destruction to all enclaves. The immense power she wields brings her many temptations, as several enclaves will give anything to have her protect them from the recent instability of others. With mana freely given by London or New York, she could create far more new Golden enclaves than she could on her own and bring about her egalitarian dream sooner, but would the cost be worth it?

The reveal of what’s really been happening this whole time is very gradual and feels very natural. Of course it makes sense that El would be doing the destroying, given the prophecy, but it didn’t seem like she was an unreliable narrator, and we’ve been in her head the whole time.. Everything that we’ve learned previously in the story comes together for an inevitable and satisfying ending. I felt the narrative was bogged down slightly a couple times, but I loved seeing El’s friends come back slowly and in an unexpected order. Overall I enjoyed it very slightly less than the previous two, but it’s still a great ending.

What a series! It really speaks to my heart. There’s no real big bad here, the minor villains are monsters created by human ego and the power to fight against is just capitalism and class hierarchy and artificial scarcity. El really truly changes the world. This is definitely one I’m going to revisit.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (5/5)

Hi Nora! I’m delurking to ask advice - or rant; let’s see how it pans out.

We’re lucky that in Singapore, which generally looks like a jungle of highrises, we live on the edge of the reservoir catchment area and I can see (some) wildlife if I go for a walk near home. People in our area have set up various chat groups so I enthusiastically joined the Wildlife group. However, I got told off for my first post saying how lucky we are to live in this area. Apparently it’s a group for complaining about wildlife. And also, admittedly, asking for help if a creature inadvertently wanders indoors.

Right now people are complaining about monkeys. Granted they can be a health hazard if humans interact with them too closely and I fully admit that having them climb onto your balcony or entering your house is a nuisance. But people are talking about getting compensation from NParks for failing to fence in the monkeys.

I’m sure if I point out that the monkeys’ ancestors were here first I’ll get shot down again. I have pointed out on the group that it’s most likely due to human activity as a lot of the jungle in our area has been razed as the government is in the process of building another expressway (and I suggested they ask the Transport Authority for restitution).

I mean I understand their frustration but if you’re going to choose to live in an area with wildlife (rare in Singapore) then you should try and live in harmony with them. Sorry - it turned into venting. Let’s see if anyone responds to my post on the chat group. (Posting on my phone; apologies if I’ma bit incoherent.)

>160 norabelle414: I use a similar approach, although I just have one wish list. It helps me keep track of books that catch my eye here on LT. For some reason I get twitchy when my wish list gets long and then I prune it. These are usually situations where I wishlisted several books by the same author so I could pick and choose later. I don't really want to read everything they've ever written. Organizing by year is an interesting approach, I wonder how many wishlisted books have fallen off my radar because of my pruning.

I have one other list, called "next in series," to easily find the next book in the series I'm currently working my way through.

>163 humouress: Hi Nina! Human-wildlife conflict is a huge issue. I recommend the book Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach. My zoo book club is discussing it this very month! It's a very fun, funny read and I think you'll enjoy it. There's a chapter about the rhesus macaques in Delhi, cousins of your crab-eating/long-tailed macaques in Singapore.

The reality is that, yes, the monkeys were there first, but also humans exterminated all of their predators, competition, and non-human food sources. Like white-tailed deer and Canadian geese in North America or kangaroos and white ibis in Australia, they've evolved to thrive in human-developed areas in a way they would not if their predators were still around. Maybe you could suggest to the group that tigers be introduced to the neighbourhood to keep the monkeys in line :-) I believe one of the tactics in Delhi has been to display statues and play noises of a larger native species of monkey as deterrence.

The thought of requesting restitution from the government is interesting. I think you guys have more robust social services than in the US, right? I don't know if it would occur to someone in the US to request restitution from the government for deer damage. My brother has had his vegetable garden cleared out by deer several times and the most he could do about it was get the county to fine his neighbors for actively feeding the deer (they were putting out bowls of corn in their yard just for the deer, ugh).

Conflict is just as bad for the macaques as it is for the humans, so maybe you could use your anti-wildlife group membership as an opportunity to suggest ways to reduce conflict. If you want to find some more like-minded people I would suggest checking out the Jane Goodall Institute of Singapore ( https://janegoodall.org.sg/ )

>164 lauralkeet: I love starting a new wishlist every year, it feels like a fresh start! While I can sort my lists by date-added they only show 20 books per page and they go back to page 1 every time I make a change so they get a little unwieldy.

Please join me on my new thread! Link below!!